Harry Potter and The Bonds of Blood
by Ravenwood240
Summary: In JKR's reality, Lily found and cast the charm that saved Harry October 31st, 1981. Here's a look at a world where James cast the spell. First of a seven year arc.
1. One little difference

_**A/N: ** In the reality we know, Lily Potter found the Blood Bond spell and cast it on Harry, saving him from Voldemort. Ever since I wrote "Bonds of Blood and Love", I've thought about that spell and all the ways it could have gone. Here is another possible reality._

_**A/N; Revised:** I had a lot of time to read over the things I had written while my laptop was dead, and I am doing a minor rewrite of the entire story. Most of you may not even notice the changes, but they seem important to me. Most of them are clarifications of things the characters did or want, while some correct errors I made, such as having Fudge as the Minister of Magic during the first Voldemort War. This first chapter will only have one or two minor things, although later chapters will have more extreme rewrites._

_**Harry Potter and The Bonds of Blood.**_

_**Chapter One**_

_**Beginnings and Endings.**_

_**OoOoOoO The Fourteenth of October, 1981. OoOoOoO **_

Lily Potter stared at the old book she'd found in the Potter library with a thoughtful frown. This spell had definite possibilities in case something drastic happened to James and her. She marked the spell and went over her notes again. Yes, it was perfect, except for one thing. It was an amazingly difficult spell, and while Lily was smarter than most, and gifted at charms, this spell was beyond her power to cast. She hated to admit there was anything she couldn't do, but she was also smart enough to know when she'd reached her limits, and this spell was beyond them.

Every Witch and Wizard had limits. James had far more magic to use than Lily did, and both of them were stronger than Peter. Remus was as stronger as Lily, but weaker than Sirius. Sirius was almost as strong as James. She smiled. Sirius was stronger, but he'd been an indifferent student at best, and she knew far more spells than he'd ever thought of.

She considered it and sighed. She looked at the clock on the wall and nodded to herself. James would be back soon, if Sirius didn't talk him into just one more round at the pub, and she didn't think that would happen again after the curse she'd hexed Sirius with the last time he'd done that.

She smiled fondly at the memory of Sirius running around wildly, locked in his Animagus form until the Mange she'd inflicted on him ran its course and he was a bald dog. It usually took Sirius three or four months to forget one of her lessons and it had only been six weeks since that incident.

As if her thoughts had conjured them, she heard the boys come in downstairs and she smiled. From the sound of it, James and Sirius were trying to get Remus to do something sneaky again. She stood up and crossed to the cradle in the corner. Harry was still sleeping, although the way he was stirring meant that he'd be waking soon.

She smiled again, and if the men downstairs had seen that smile, they would have been finding things to do out of Lily's sight until whatever idea she had come up with went away.

The Marauders were dedicated pranksters. They would fiddle with a prank, working on it until it was perfect before they tried it out, but Lily was the opposite. She would think of a prank and pull it right away. If she couldn't pull it off soon, she'd simply forget about it, unless something brought it back to mind when she could pull it off.

She took one last look at Harry and smiled. This was going to be so much fun. She went downstairs, schooling her face into stern lines. She entered the kitchen of Godric's Hollow, where the boys were sitting around the table. "Gentlemen," she said, fiercely but quietly, "I just got Harry to sleep for the first time today and if one of you wake him, I will do _things_ to that person that he will **not** forget, _ever_."

She glared at them all and turned sharply, leaving them staring at the doorway she'd been in. She stopped and cast the spell even James didn't know about, that allowed her to hear any conversation that went on in the house. She had gotten the idea for it at Hogwarts, when she realized that the only way the Headmaster could know half of the things he did was to have a spell like that.

She hadn't been able to find the exact spell that the headmaster used, but this one she'd created worked well enough for her. She listened to the boys.

"Prongs, it's a pity we didn't know Lily well enough to get her to become an Animagus with us. We could have used a tiger a few times," Remus was saying.

Sirius snorted. "And the only reason she would have been a tiger is because nobody can become a Dragon." Lily smiled, until Sirius finished his statement. "She'd be a great Dragon. Moody, irritable and violent when upset."

Lily could almost hear the smile in James' voice. "And right behind you."

"WHAT!?" yelped Sirius and the next sound was his chair falling over as he tried to spin around and stand up at the same time. "Lily, I didn't."

Lily smiled as young Harry started crying, at the most perfect time. She took a deep breath. "Sirius! I'm going to."

She stopped as the crack of an Apparation sounded. She marched into the room, schooling her features into anger. Remus and James had their hands over their mouths and were trying to hold in the laughter that threatened to escape with every second.

They froze at the look on her face, eyeing the wand in her hand warily. "So you think it's funny, do you," she said in a voice of pure sugar. James blinked several times and groaned, the laughter gone.

"I'm going to go upstairs and see Harry," he said in a rush, edging around her without turning his back on her. She listened to him run up the stairs and looked at the third person sitting there. "Is something funny, Remus?" she asked sweetly.

Remus Lupin looked at Lily and noted something James had missed, not because he didn't know Lily, but because he was so in love with her. Lily had that little twitch at the corner of her left eye that meant she was only holding down laughter by sheer will. Plus, to be honest, James and Sirius didn't have the enhanced senses of a Werewolf, and couldn't tell that Lily didn't smell angry.

He smiled at her. "Yes, I have to say that the way you have those two, the twin terrors of Gryffindor, wrapped around your slightest whim is funnier than anything we ever pulled."

Lily stared at him for a minute and smiled. "I do my best," she said modestly.

"And quite good it is," Remus said with a smile.

Lily turned to go upstairs and give James a proper hello and then stopped. She looked at Remus. "You're not going to give my secret away, are you?"

Remus grinned and some of the premature ageing brought on by the Werewolf transformations seemed to fall away, making him look his real age. "Ruin this prank? Not on your life and for two reasons. First, I'm going to enjoy the looks on their faces when they finally figure out how you've played them and second, I'm not stupid enough to ruin your fun. You'd make me a bald Werewolf or something and I can live without that, thank you."

Lily smiled sweetly at Remus. "Please, I am far more creative than to use the same prank twice. You'd be a glowing neon pink, or maybe green and silver."

Remus' jaw dropped. "You wouldn't really make me a Slytherin, would you?" he asked weakly.

Lily just smiled and started up the stairs. Her spell to hear things in the house was still active and she smiled to herself at Remus' quiet mutter. "That is an evil, evil woman."

_**OoOoOoO The Sixteenth of October, 1981. OoOoOoO**_

Two days later, Lily had her notes in order and her arguments marshalled. She made James a good dinner and waited until he was done before broaching the subject. She had barely begun speaking when he stopped her. "Love, will this protect Harry if something happens to us?"

She nodded mutely. James shrugged. "Then I'll do it. I trust you to know exactly what the spell will do and what it will cost. Are you prepared to pay the price?"

Lily looked away. "I can't. I'm not strong enough," she said bitterly.

James shook his head. "That's not what I meant. If you could cast this spell, would I even be hearing about it?"

Lily nodded. "Of course you would. Right after I finished casting it."

James grinned at her. "I thought so, you Slytherin, you. If you're that sure of it, we'll do it. When would be good for you?"

Lily looked at the moon. "In two days it will be the full moon and Remus and Sirius will both be away on Order business. That would be a great time to do it."

James nodded. "Since I only have two days, let's go over the spell right now and tomorrow, I'll study it in earnest."

Lily looked at James curiously. "Why start tomorrow?"

James pulled Lily into his lap. "Because I have this desire to find out what whim I'm wrapped around tonight," he said, kissing the side of her neck, and counting down from ten. He'd reached two when Lily pulled away, and he smiled to himself for judging her so accurately.

Lily let him do it for a minute, enjoying the touch of her husband. She pulled back and stared at him. "How long have you known what I was doing?" she demanded, seeing the gleam in his eye. "And how did you know what Remus said to me, anyway?"

James sighed in mock sadness. "Lily, what did I do for three years before you consented to go with me to Hogsmeade?"

Lily smiled. "You watched me, trying to get my attention, a date and a smile or two."

"I know your look better than anyone. I spent long enough watching you. I don't need to see the little twitch you get at the corner of your eye to know when you're playing games. It's in every line of your body." James grinned then, a boyish expression that made him look five years younger. "And since I spend most of my time watching those lines," he said, with a smirk.

Lily blushed and slapped his arm gently. "Stop that. Why haven't you told Sirius?"

James smiled at something only he could see. "Because in first year Sirius and I made a bet about which of us who be the first to prank the other and not get caught. If I can keep this charade going for another few days, until Halloween, I'll win that bet." James looked serious for a minute. "Plus, laughing about the way you have us wrapped around your finger is amusing Remus no end, and he has so few moments of true humour in his life." James started to brood about his friend with the curse when Lily grabbed him by the ears and kissed him very seriously indeed.

He looked at her and saw a look he'd only seen since they were married, one that always set his blood to pounding. "James," she paused suddenly, cocking her head to one side, and James sighed.

She'd thought of another question she wanted answered, and that would always side track her from anything else. "How did you know about that 'wrapped around my whim' comment, anyway? I was in the kitchen with Remus, and you were upstairs with Harry." Lily waited, watching him.

James looked at her innocently. "Lucky guess?" he offered brightly.

Lily bent down and nipped gently at his ear, raising the pressure of a certain portion of his anatomy considerably, especially after she wiggled a few times. "James, there are two outcomes to this game. One has us going upstairs and playing more games," and she nipped his ear again, "and the second has you sleeping on the couch. You are smart enough to figure out which one includes you telling me what I want to know." She wiggled again, pressing against him and settling herself into him again, causing his breath to catch and his pressure to rise again.

Since James wasn't sure how much more pressure he could take without exploding, he confessed. "I noticed a few months ago that you seemed to be as bad as Professor Dumbledore about knowing everything that anyone said in the house and figured out that you must have a spell that allowed you to hear things when you weren't in the room, so one afternoon when you were out baby shopping, I cast a spell the Marauders found in our third year, that duplicates the effects of any spell you cast on yourself on me."

Lily smiled at James and that look was back. She kissed him again and leaned back just enough to run her hands over his chest. "Mr. Potter, if you would take me upstairs, I'm going to do things to your person that you will not forget, ever."

_**OoOoOoO Two days later, The Eighteenth of October, 1981. OoOoOoO**_

Lily stared at James, watching as he finished the spell. Between the potion and casting this ritual, James had been using an amazing amount of magic and he was showing the strain. Lily was fretting, something she did quite well, as the ritual neared its end. He was almost done, both magically and with the ritual. If he faltered, the ritual was wasted, and there wouldn't be another chance for it to be done again until after the end of the year, simply because it would take that long to make more of the potion, and it was past mid October now.

She sighed as James cast the final bit of the spell, and gave Harry the last drop of the potion that they had shared during the ritual. They both glowed for a second, a deep azure blue that shone with an inner light before it faded into their skin and Lily smiled, a great fear falling away from her. Voldemort had been very active recently, and they had already had more than a dozen encounters with his followers, including three with Voldemort himself.

That they had lived this long was equal parts her mind, James' daring and large bits of luck, and Lily was not going to put Harry's life in the hands of luck.

She crossed to them and summoned James' favourite chair from the corner it had been pushed into so they would have room for this working. James slumped into the chair, still cradling Harry gently. Lily took Harry and sat in James' lap, cuddling Harry, who was protesting the taste of the potion he'd been fed.

Lily undid her robe and gave him a better tasting potion to drink. She watched him nurse with a small smile playing about her lips, the smile of a woman who knows her children are as safe as she can make them.

James sighed, resting his head on the back of the chair. "That was the most intense bit of magic I've ever cast. I think I'll call in sick tomorrow."

"Already taken care of, love. We are, at this moment, on detached duty for a week, because I need you to help me break some wards on a Dark Book, that might belong to Voldemort."

James tilted his head so he could see Lily without raising his head from the back of the chair. "Do you have a book of his?" he asked curiously.

Lily smiled. "No, but I do have one of the Black family books that Sirius brought me. I told Sirius that I would forget about him waking Harry the other night if he would bring me the Darkest, most cursed book he could find." She frowned and shifted Harry to the other breast to nurse, an event watched by his father with interest and a touch of envy. "It says things I don't even want to think about, that all he had to do was go home to get the darkest book he could find. What kind of people are his folks, anyway?"

James sighed, closing his eyes again. "Sirius' folks are as Dark as any, the worst sort of Wizards, lost in fantasies of Pureblood dominion and Wizard supremacy."

Lily snickered. "Here's an idea. Let's lock my sister and her husband in a room with Sirius' parents and let them talk for a week or so."

James was too tired to do more than smile at that thought. "We'd have to take their wands away, and make sure Dursley didn't have a Muggle weapon on him, or there would be a death in minutes."

Lily frowned, but had to admit he was probably right. "Now, since you and Harry both need to sleep, what say we go upstairs and get to bed?"

James looked at the stairs and then at Lily. "Can't I just stay here and sleep? This chair is very comfortable."

Lily shrugged nonchalantly. "If you really want to, I guess you can," she said as she got up and started toward the stairs. "I'm going to wait exactly ten minutes, and then I'm going to cancel the warming charm on the oil, get back into my nightgown and go to sleep, unless you're in bed with me before that time."

James thought about A. sleeping in the chair, or B., a hot oil massage and a nude Lily for nearly one whole second before he was out of the chair and headed upstairs. He did have to go back once when Lily's voice came floating downstairs. "James Potter, don't you dare leave clothing on the floor."

James turned around and picked up his robes from where he'd just shrugged them off. Even with that delay, he beat Lily into the bedroom, and was laying on his stomach when she came in after putting Harry down.

She slipped out of her nightgown, only to find that James has fallen asleep already. She smiled and brought the hot oil to the side of the bed. She had promised him a rub, after all, even if he wouldn't remember it in the morning.

It took Lily less than two days to crack the curses around the book Sirius had brought her, and the next five days they stayed home and played, letting the worries of the Voldemort war and everything outside of the house fall away from them for that short period of time.

Sirius and Remus came over a couple of times, and Peter Pettigrew came by once, but the three of them seemed to recognize that James and Lily wanted some private time and their visits were short.

Their short stay in paradise ended with a visit from Albus Dumbledore on the twenty-fifth. He told them to be careful, and to check on Sirius, the Secret Keeper of their Fidelius Charm. "Voldemort has some new information, that may lead to you becoming a specific target," he said quietly. "I would rather he had never heard this bit of news, but nothing can be done about that now."

James and Lily looked at each other and James shook his head. Professor Dumbledore didn't have to know that they'd secretly switched their Secret Keeper at the last minute, as a double bluff and feint.

With Remus Lupin, Werewolf, easily capable of defending himself and Sirius Black, every bit as capable as Remus and far more ruthless available as Secret Keepers, who would ever believe they'd choose the weakest one of them all, the only one that was even weaker magically than Lily?

Professor Dumbledore had another comment to make. "I would suggest that until we find the leak in the Order of the Phoenix, it might be better for you to stay in Godric's Hollow for a few more days."

Albus Dumbledore caught the smile that James and Lily shared at that and his eyes began twinkling. "I see you're disappointed in that," he said with a straight face.

The Potters smiled in tandem. "Oh, absolutely heartbroken," James said, putting on his best innocent look, the one that hadn't fooled anyone that knew him in years. Lily just shook her head and picked up Harry.

Albus Dumbledore left shortly after that, looking back once as he passed the Anti-Apparation wards. "Be safe," he murmured and Disapparated to go see the Longbottoms.

It would be the last time he ever saw the Potters as a family.

_**OoOoOoO Halloween, The Thirty-first of October, 1981. OoOoOoO**_

James was a little disappointed about not taking Harry out on Halloween night, but Lily made it up to him with a special dinner and long hot bath together after Harry was sleeping.

They had just finished, and they were in James' favourite chair just cuddling and talking quietly when they felt the Fidelius Charm break. Amid the sounds of multiple Apparations they stared at each other, one thought in their mind. Peter had betrayed them.

Lily jumped up. "Go cast the last spell," she said, pulling her wand. "Hurry!"

James hesitated, and Lily kissed him, pushing him toward the stairs. "Go, or everything you did is for nothing!"

James ran upstairs and into the bedroom where Harry lay sleeping in his cradle. Casting the final spell to seal the Blood Bond was an instant's work and he turned, determined to join Lily when he heard the front door break and Lily's curse, followed by one more curse and silence.

James fell to his knees, staring at the doorway and silently begging Lily to scream, curse, do anything, and knowing that the green flash he'd seen reflecting up the stairs meant she wouldn't do anything, ever.

He stood then, and a fire grew in his eyes, a fire matched by the fire in his heart. He slammed the door shut and sealed it with a locking charm and a charm his father had showed him, that sealed a door into the wall, making them one and the same, nearly impossible to find.

He looked around, and his eyes fell on Artemis, Lily's owl. He scribbled a short addition on the bottom of a note he'd prepared after Dumbledore's warning and sent the owl out the window as the sounds of curses began shattering the walls of the house.

James Potter stood in front of Harry's cradle, his wand in hand and knowing that there was one final thing that he had to do to seal Harry's protection from any harm directed at Harry.

The door blew up as he stood there, and he cast a spell Severus Snape had created on the first person through the door, sending them back out the doorway in a spray of blood. _"One for you, Lily,"_ he thought savagely, and cursed the next person back through the opening in the wall and quite nearly through the next wall as well.

"That's two," he called, caught in the blood lust of a man that has just lost his beloved wife. "Come and get some more." James went on to describe the Death Eaters ancestry, behaviours, and looks in scatological detail, stopping only to curse two more back out of the room.

The next person thought the wall blocked his curse, and James Potter and Tom Riddle faced each other, nearly close enough to touch.

"Give me the child and you can go free."

James sneered at Lord Voldemort. "As if I would ever give my son to a Mudblood paedophile bastard who doesn't even know his real name."

James saw the flare of anger in Voldemort's eyes and realized that something he'd said had struck a serious nerve in the older man, but he never had a chance to find out which insult it was.

With less than two meters between them, James Potter simply couldn't dodge the green curse that erupted from Voldemort's wand as the man's eyes flared in anger and hate.

Lord Voldemort looked at the man that had defied him so many times and then took the final two steps of his life, looking down into Harry's cradle. Harry had been protesting the noise quite loudly, but he stopped as Voldemort came into sight.

Voldemort looked at the child that prophecy said would destroy him, and sneered. Harry looked up at him and the green eyes that were Lily's gift to him seemed to light up in defiance, much as James' had a scant few seconds ago.

Voldemort stared at the child and thought for a second about raising it as his own, and then common sense intruded. Taking a child that was supposed to kill him and raising it was just asking for the child to turn on Voldemort, especially when he learned who had killed his parents.

"Good-bye, Harry Potter," he said and raised his wand. Somewhere in the house a clock struck nine as Tom Riddle, the so called "Lord Voldemort", cast his final spell.

"Avada Kedavra."

_**OoOoOoO The fourth of February, 2007. Author's Notes. OoOoOoO**_

_Yes, I know that Lily was an extremely powerful Witch, well capable of casting the spell that saved baby Harry, but that's the whole point of an Alternate Universe. Here, in this reality that I have started to record, Lily wasn't strong enough to cast the spell, and James was._

_If anyone is interested, I'll post some more of this, but it's only an idea in the back of my head, and not that important to me. If Y'all want more of it, you'll have to tell me so, or it will remain a "What If?" story._

_Raven_

_Revised notes: When I wrote this, it was just a bunnie running around in my head after writing a dark story, "Bonds of Blood and Love". I told you all that if you were interested in this story, you'd have to tell me, and you did. In fact, this is the second most read story I have, with more than forty thousand hits. I guess you really did want more of it._

_Raven_


	2. Reactions and Decisions

_So far, there have been only minimal changes to JKR's world. That is about to change. Without further ado, let's see how the rest of the world reacts to the events at Godric's Hollow._

_Revised A/N: _

_**Harry Potter and the Bonds of Blood**_

_**Chapter two**_

_**Reactions**_

_**OoOoOoO Sirius Black's House; 830pm, Halloween night, 1981 OoOoOoO**_

Sirius and Remus were sitting in Sirius' house just outside of London. While his mother had thrown him out of the house in town and forbid him access to the Family Vaults, like most Pureblood families, almost all of the Blacks had smaller private vaults, for funds that the Black Family didn't control for one reason or another. Most of them also received properties or land when they came of age, and Sirius was no exception.

This small house, a mere seventeen rooms, was a gift from his maternal grandmother on her death, along with the three House Elves that took care of the place. Sirius had learned quickly that treating the House Elves like he did the insane Kreacher resulted in service that was less than perfect. Since then, he'd learned something that he was quite certain no Black he knew had learned.

House Elves could adapt to almost any situation. Sirius had simply given them the instructions to take care of the house and any guests, and nothing else. Since then, the three had not spoken to him except in serving or when something required money or resources they didn't have.

Right now, Sirius was looking at a bill that the House Elves had brought him and sighing. "Remus, why do I have a bill for potion supplies when I haven't made a potion since the NEWTs?"

He looked up as the silence continued. Remus was staring at the fire with a frown. He seemed to fell Sirius' eyes on him and looked up. "Something is wrong," he said quietly, "but I don't know what. My wolf is very restless for a night with no full moon."

Sirius frowned as he checked the wards around the house. Everything was perfect, with not a Muggle or Death Eater in range of the wards anywhere. He looked at Remus, noting the amber tint in his eyes and frowned again. The wolf was riled up tonight. That was not a good thing and Sirius tried to figure out why Remus would be so nervous.

The two men looked at each other as something changed. Remus was the first to figure it out. "The Potters live in Godric's Hollow."

Sirius stared at him as his mind processed what he'd just heard and then he jumped up. "The Fidelius charm is gone. We have to get over there!"

Sirius ran for the door, just a step ahead of Remus. They cleared the Anti-Apparation wards and tried to Apparate to Godric's Hollow. Both men stared at each other as the Apparation failed.

"Come on!" said Sirius and he ran around the side of the building. He jerked open the shed and rolled out his charmed motorcycle. Remus waited for him to mount the bike and got on behind him.

"Sirius, you know how I'm always telling you to slow down?" said Remus tensely.

"Yeah?"

"Ignore that. Get us there now."

Sirius took off and before the two men had reached the end of the driveway, they were a hundred metres high and Sirius was kicking the bike into high gear.

_**OoOoOoO Hogwarts, 845 pm, Halloween Night, 1981 OoOoOoO**_

Professor Albus Dumbledore was in his office studying some of the instruments in his office. The Dark Detectors were going off, and he was trying to determine where the activity was happening. He frowned as a location became clear.

He looked up at the two men in the room with him. "Hagrid, go to Godric's Hollow, but be careful. Something is going on, and there may be followers of Voldemort there. Take the Floo to the Patil residence, it's the closest Floo. If you need to do any magic when you get there, I will deal with it."

"Yes, Headmaster." Hagrid stood up and was in the Floo almost before the older Wizard had finished speaking.

Professor Dumbledore considered the Detectors and as his clock struck nine, they exploded, sending a rain of glass and other things over the office. Professor Dumbledore looked at the other man. "Now, I think you will learn what comes of your actions, Severus."

Severus Snape looked at the Headmaster. "Will Hagrid be in time?"

Professor Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Alas, I fear not. Whatever was going to happen there has already happened. The best we can do is pick up the pieces."

_**OoOoOoO Godric's Hollow, 920 pm, Halloween Night. OoOoOoO**_

Sirius saw the house at Godric's Hollow and started down, easing the gas off as they came close to the ground. He snarled as he saw a body outside the front door and the damage to the door.

He landed in the front yard, and dropped the bike as soon as Remus was off. The two of them pulled their wands and ran for the door. Remus, with the added muscle and speed of his Curse, was the first one to the door and he went inside without stopping. Sirius ran into him just inside the door, where Remus had stopped suddenly.

He looked around Remus and his heart shrivelled as he saw the limp form of Lily lying on the floor with her wand in her hand.

Remus checked her pulse, knowing what he would find, but desperately hoping that she was alive. He looked up at Sirius and shook his head slowly.

Both men jumped as a baby's cry came from upstairs.

"Harry!" Sirius was closer to the stairs and he nearly flew up them. He jumped the body lying at the head of the stairs and grinned mirthlessly at the one stuck in the wall, with blood still running down it. He bounded into the bedroom that had been James and Lily's for such a short time and stopped. Two more Death Eater bodies lay on the floor, but Sirius only had eyes for the scene on the other side of the room.

James Potter lay in front of Harry's crib, anger and defiance still on his face as his eyes stared sightlessly at the ceiling. Next to him was a set of clothes with ashes in them and an ugly yew wand near one sleeve.

Harry was standing up in his crib and crying, with blood running down his face. He saw Sirius and held out his hands, crying harder as help was in sight. Sirius crossed to him and picked up the last tie to the man he'd thought of as a brother for more than eight years.

He held Harry and looked at the blood, tracing it back to a wound on his forehead. Sirius tried a first aid spell on the wound and frowned as it didn't work. He took a baby blanket from the crib and held it to the injury, trying to stop the bleeding.

Remus came in and sank to his knees besides James. He checked James, as he had Lily, and with no better result. Remus reached out and closed James' eyes.

The two men looked at each other as the three of them cried, the pain of the men being emotional rather than physical, but no less hurtful for that.

Remus suddenly spun, looking at the ashes in the clothing, and sniffing. He turned to Sirius and the wolf was very close to the surface. "That's You Know Who."

Sirius blinked tears away and looked at the remains. "Are you sure?"

Remus tested the air again. "Oh yes, I'm sure. His smell was unlike any other."

Sirius looked at the scene, trying to figure out what had happened. "James got the four Death Eaters, Lily got the other one downstairs, but who killed him?"

Remus looked at the scene. "You Know Who came in here, and he had to have killed James, or one of the other Death Eaters would be alive."

"Unless there were more of them than just the six," said Sirius, looking around, as if to see tracks.

Remus shook his head. "Had there been another here, they would have taken You Know Who's remains and his wand at least. No, He was the last one here, and he faced James." Remus frowned thoughtfully as he looked around.

"Either James got him as he died, or something happened to You Know Who after James was dead. I just don't have enough information to know what could have happened."

Sirius was looking at Harry. "Remus, Harry's wound won't stop bleeding."

Remus looked at Harry, and brushed his hair back from the injury. His wolf growled deep inside of him as they looked at the Lightning bolt shaped cut still trickling blood, and Remus bent down, sniffing the wound.

Sirius flinched, holding Harry a little closer.

Remus barely felt the familiar flash of pain as someone close to him misunderstood some wolfish thing he did. He was far more interested in the smell of magic around the wound. He stood up and looked again at the human shaped ashes.

He picked up the wand and cast "_Prior Incantato_" on it. In quick succession three Avada Kedavra spells came out of the wand, separated only by a single blocking spell. Other spells came with them, but Remus wasn't paying attention. He was staring at Harry.

"Sirius, the Death Eaters broke in, and He kills Lily after she got the first person in the door, agreed?"

Sirius thought about the spells from the wand and what they had seen downstairs. "OK," he agreed.

"They come upstairs, and had a hard time finding the bedroom for some reason, probably a spell."

Sirius nodded, wanting to know where Remus was going with this.

Remus was looking in the hallway, picturing the scene. "They found the room, and James cut the first one with that spell of Snivellus', and banishes the second into the wall, because that was how James always fought."

Sirius nodded again. He'd seen James use that combination many times as it was very effective. "Go on."

"Two more Death Eaters try to get in here, and James gets them. Then He enters, using that blocking spell in his wand." Sirius nodded, his throat getting tight as he waited to hear how Remus thought James had died.

"You Know Who gets James," Remus says, avoiding the word kills, "and then steps over him to face Harry, look at the position of the clothes."

Sirius turned and looked at the scene again, imagining what the clothes would have looked like if someone were in them. "You're right," he said in surprise, looking back at Remus, "if the clothes were standing, they'd be facing the crib."

"I know. And here's another puzzle for you." Remus pointed at the crib. "Harry, there, Him, here, and one killing curse. I think we can assume that Harry didn't cast it."

Sirius looked at the scene and frowned, looking at Remus in bewilderment. "I'm lost, Moony. Fill me in."

Remus sighed. "I can't. All I can add is that Harry's injury smells of an Unforgivable, and he's still alive." He let Sirius think about that for a second. "The smell is bitter, like blood and decay."

Sirius made the connection between the last spell Voldemort cast and what Remus was saying. He looked at Harry. "What happened, Harry?" he asked, not expecting an answer.

Harry was calming down as he was held by a familiar presence, and starting to fall asleep when a grotesque howling arose from downstairs, and the house trembled as something struck it a terrible blow.

The noise startled Harry and he started crying again. "Harry, I'm coming!"

Remus and Sirius had turned toward the door when the noise had started, their wands out, fearing another Death Eater attack. They looked at each other and relaxed at that huge bellow. "Hagrid."

Seconds later, Hagrid appeared in the door, his umbrella in one hand and a large knife in the other. He stopped, looking at the two men. "What." his voice died away as he saw James on the floor and Sirius shushing Harry. "What happened?"

Remus snarled, and with his wolf so near the surface, it was a true snarl. "Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper for the Potters, " he said, having heard the story from Sirius on the way here. "He betrayed them, or was tortured for the information, we don't know which. The Death Eaters and You Know Who appeared," He sighed as Hagrid flinched. "They killed James and Lily, but they lost everyone except You Know Who during the attack."

Hagrid smiled grimly. "Good fer them."

Remus nodded and continued. "You Know Who got James, and then some thing went wrong for him. He tried to use the Killing Curse on Harry and it backfired somehow, killing You Know Who."

Hagrid stared at him, and then looked at Sirius, who stepped to the side so Hagrid could see the ash filled clothing. Hagrid stared at it for a minute. "Professor Dumbledore has to know this. I'm going to go back there now. What are you two going to do?"

Remus and Sirius looked at each other. Sirius, being more familiar with the Dark Arts and the people that used them, was the first to think it though. "First, we've got to hide Harry. The Death Eaters don't know what happened here, and sooner or later, they're going to come asking questions. Then, we have to find Peter, and find out if he's alive or not. If he's alive and unhurt, he betrayed James and Lily, and he'll pay for that."

Sirius' face had changed as he thought about Peter, reminding the other two men that this man had grown up in a family that fully supported Voldemort and likely had trained Sirius in various unpleasant ways to deal with people that he didn't like.

Sirius was taking charge. Remus was the brains of the two, but Sirius was the one that led when things got tight and James wasn't there. "Remus, write Professor Dumbledore a note telling him everything we found here tonight. Hagrid, take it to him, and tell him that Remus and I are going underground for a few days, until word of You Know Who's death gets out. We'll be in touch in a week."

Remus nodded and went down the hall to the Library to use the paper and quills there. Hagrid looked at Harry. "What's that on his head? Is he hurt?"

Sirius was thinking about what they were going to do next and answered him absently. "Calm down, Hagrid. It's just a cut Harry got when Voldemort cast a Killing Curse at him."

Hagrid stared at Sirius for a long time, absorbing what he'd just said and then looking for signs that Sirius was kidding him. When he didn't find any, he tapped Sirius on the shoulder. "Did you just say Harry survived being touched by a Killing Curse?"

Sirius looked at Hagrid. "That's what it looks like." He took Hagrid though the logic chain Remus had made.

Hagrid listened, and then looked at the remains of Voldemort, noting where the clothes were pointing. He read the signs better than Sirius had, because Hagrid had been tracking animals and other thing down for years and could read sign better than Sirius. He looked at Harry with a touch of awe, and whispered. "How?"

"I might be able to answer that," said Remus from the doorway. He had a long note for Professor Dumbledore and a book, which he was skimming. "If I'm reading this right, it's a spell, a charm you can cast on another person. It's very difficult though. I don't know if I could cast it."

Sirius looked up. "You and I may not be able to, but what about James?"

Remus frowned as he thought about it. "Maybe. It would be a the biggest thing he'd ever done if he did do it."

"What does it do?" asked Sirius, looking at Harry. Maybe this would explain how Harry survived a Killing Curse.

Remus frowned. "I'm not sure. I need to study this more. I think it's a protective ward. The more you put..." his voice faded away. "Oh no, James." Remus looked up at the others. "It's a ward, powered by sacrifice. The bigger the sacrifice, the stronger the protection."

The three of them turned to look at James, lying in front of the cradle Harry had been in. Sirius put their thoughts into words. "James and Lily were both keyed into the wards here. He could have Apparated away, and Lily bought him that much time."

Remus nodded. "I wondered why he didn't take Harry and run, but I think Lily figured out what this spell can do, and James cast it."

Hagrid looked at them. "Just what did his sacrifice give Harry?"

Remus looked in the book, skimming it for the section he'd been reading. "And lo, should one, bound by blood and love, willingly give up their life whilst under this charm, the Charmed One shall be protected from all harm that is aimed at them."

Remus looked at the other men. "Harry cannot be hurt, by any action or magic aimed at him. That's why he survived the Killing Curse." He read a bit more. "There is something else here, about bonds of love, but we don't have time right now."

Sirius looked up from Harry. "Right. Hagrid, go to Professor Dumbledore and tell him what we know. Remus, you've got a cooler head than I do. See if you can find Peter. We need to know if he's the target of our revenge, or a victim to be avenged."

Sirius started ransacking the drawers, looking for Harry's clothes. Hagrid was on his way out and Remus stopped at the doorway, looking at Sirius packing Harry's stuff. "Where are you going to be?"

Sirius looked up, smiling. "I think it's about time I dropped in on a couple of cousins the Blacks won't even admit are in the family tree."

Remus raised an eyebrow, waiting to hear this. Sirius grinned. "I'm going to run off and become an Auror with the Longbottoms."

_**OoOoOoO Hogwarts, 0530AM, 01NOV81. OoOoOoO**_

Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk and stared at the fire. This had been a long night, and it was not a good one. They had lost two of the brightest Light Wizards of their time tonight. He stared at the ashes on his desk again. He couldn't prove it, but he knew Voldemort was not dead. Disembodied for a time, yes, but not dead. Unfortunately, he couldn't prove that, and after the Aurors had told Minister Fudge that Voldemort was gone, the Minister had made it public. Even now, Voldemort's wand was on display in the Ministry and hundreds of Wizards and Witches had flocked to see it and hear the story (according to the Ministry) first hand.

Even as Albus mourned the two youngsters that had died, Wizards and Witches across Britain were celebrating the death of Voldemort and praising Harry Potter. The legend of the Boy Who Lived was beginning.

Professor Dumbledore looked again at the book. That charm was very difficult, and when you put the power needed for the spell, the research to find it in the first place, and the skill needed to make the potion that went with it, he doubted more than a dozen people could have pulled it off.

Knowing the Potters as well as he did, he could reconstruct the scene fairly well. Lily found the spell, and broke it down, making it easy to teach the spell itself to James.

Remus was very good with Potions, and might even have been a Potion Master, if the Wizengamot would allow a werewolf to test for it. Albus was positive he'd made the potion the charm required.

James had the power, and the will to cast the spell. He had to know what he was doing when he cast it, or it would not have worked.

Albus sighed and stopped thinking about that. He had another problem. Harry Potter was in the hands of a man Albus didn't control. Sirius Black was a rebel, and only James Potter had been able to control him. With James gone, Sirius would not listen to anyone, except maybe Remus, who was missing as he hunted for Peter Pettigrew.

Albus considered his options. He wanted to keep an eye on Harry, because sooner or later, Voldemort would be back, and Harry was the only person that could kill him now. He had to be sure that Harry would want to do what he had to do.

If Lily had cast the spell, he would have given Harry to her family. When it came time for Harry to come to Hogwarts, he would have been so grateful to be away from them that he would have done anything to stay away from there.

With James casting the spell, there were a few more options, but not many. Harry did have a dozen or more relatives in the older families but most of them supported Voldemort and to leave Harry with them would be folly.

Albus consulted a chart of the Potter family connections. The Greengrasses. No, they were part of the Windenmere group, and that wouldn't do Albus any good at all. Those people were fanatically loyal to their Family and the Windenmere group, and anyone else was a distant third.

Albus Dumbledore would not accept being third in Harry's loyalty chain. Harry had to trust him completely. He sighed and checked again to be sure he was the only person in the office. He looked at the prophecy that the Divination Professor had given during the interview.

Harry had been born as the seventh month died, on July 31st, Neville Longbottom a day earlier.

_The power Voldemort knew not._ Well, that could be the charm, since Harry was immune to anything aimed at him. Not that the charm would protect him from an accident, or from something not aimed at him. If anyone tried to kill Harry with a Killing Curse, it would rebound, but if Harry jumped in front of a curse aimed at someone else, it would kill him just like anyone else.

A fall from a high place, injury, illness, any of that could kill Harry, as he was only protected from things directed at him.

Albus considered the prophecy. Somehow, he didn't feel that the charm was that power. There had to be more to it than that.

_Marked as his equal_. Voldemort certainly had marked Harry, trying to kill him with a curse and failing. Albus knew more than almost anybody alive about curses, due to his research during the Grindelwald era, and he knew that the attack that left that mark would have done something to Harry but only time would tell them what those things were.

_Neither can live while the other does._ Albus frowned as he looked at that line. Voldemort was not alive right now, so was this part concluded? He considered it and decided that Voldemort would find a way to return, someday.

He considered the fact that Harry had technically killed Voldemort on Halloween. Tom Riddle's body was destroyed, and by most definitions, he was dead. Even if his spirit survived and he found a way back into a physical body, he would not be the same person that had entered Godric's Hollow that night.

Ultimately, Albus Dumbledore decided that as long as his spirit survived, Voldemort was alive.

Yes, Harry was the only weapon against Voldemort's return. All Albus could do now was make sure Harry was ready for that and hope Voldemort took at least a decade to return.

When he was done with that, he looked at two more lines of Prophecy, cursing Severus. Albus' brother had gotten Albus after seeing Snape skulking about, and Albus had re-entered the room after dealing with Severus to hear Sybil Trelawney speaking another Prophecy.

He'd only heard the last two lines of this one though.

"_In that battle, with faith the main focus, two of four shall die the final death._

_Owl, Rat, Snake or Cat, two will be destroyed, no soul to rise."_

Albus had wondered if the two were connected, until Halloween night. Tom Riddle was a Parselmouth, and he would be the snake. Peter Pettigrew was an Animagus, a rat. Albus frowned. He really couldn't think of anyone that fit the owl part. Harry could fit as the owl or the cat, and given that his father was an Animagus, it would not surprise Albus to find out that Harry could be one as well.

Of course, he could not discount Professor McGonagall either. She was after all, a cat Animagus already, and she would be on the light side, fighting as fiercely as anyone else. Not for nothing was she a Gryffindor.

Eventually, he put that away, cursing Snape again. If only he had the complete text to the second Prophecy. What did it mean, 'faith the main focus'? More important, how did one avoid being one of the two that died the final death? That was an archaic way of saying even their spirit would be destroyed, so that nothing of them remained, nor could any magic, Dark or Light, bring them back from that death.

Albus Dumbledore sat backed and thought. He had been subtly guiding the Wizard world, at least the British part of it since he first stepped into the Wizengamot after defeating Grindelwald. He had a plan to raise the Wizard world into a new golden age, with him the power behind the throne, and control of key figures was a linchpin of his plan. Fudge was an incompetent moron, swayed only by money and fear. He scrabbled around, doing whatever it took to hold onto his power and leaving Dumbledore alone, since Albus could have him removed with a few quiet words.

In fact, Albus had been grooming Fudge's replacement until the man was killed in a Death Eater attack. He would have to find someone else soon. Diggory, maybe. Already in the Ministry, he trusted Dumbledore completely and was passing him information secretly.

Albus laid that aside for later and thought about his current problem. Harry Potter had overnight become a key figure, and he was out of reach, since not even owls could find Sirius or Harry. Hagrid had told Albus about what Sirius had said, but Hagrid had left before Sirius had said where he was going.

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot and leader of the International Conference of Wizards sent off three owls. Those three owls caused a flock of owls to fly. Within twenty-four hours, hundreds of people from all walks of life would be looking for Sirius and Harry.

Albus would control Harry, no matter what it cost Sirius or Harry.

_**OoOoOoO The Longbottom Estate, 04NOV81. OoOoOoO**_

Sirius and Frank Longbottom were discussing the people looking for Sirius. "They're not my family," Sirius said, "they'd be sneaking around. These people act as though they have a right to know where I am, or Harry is."

Frank agreed. "I confronted one of them I ran across in Diagon Alley, and he wasn't worried about me being an Auror."

Sirius frowned. "That means that whoever is doing this has friends in high places, or is in a high place himself."

Frank shrugged. "It doesn't matter. You can stay here as long as you want, and no one can find you here." He smiled. "It's amazing, what you can learn in the Hallowed Halls of the Ministry." The sarcasm in his voice was thick enough to walk on.

Sirius grinned. "You've been in Knockturn Alley. Specifically, you've been to Graterson's Grotto, and bought his wards and charms book."

Frank tilted his head. "Shall I assume you have a copy?"

Sirius nodded. "As long as you stay out of chapters twenty-seven to sixty-eight, it's a great ward book. I've used many of the spells in it."

Frank sighed. "Those Charms though." He shivered. "Those are just disturbing."

Sirius agreed, to a point. "Most of them are a bit Dark Arts, but some of them are just dangerous, without being dark."

Frank looked at Sirius with a frown. "'A bit Dark Arts'" he quoted, shaking his head. "Cousin Black, I submit you are out of your mind. One of those spells beheads a person. In my opinion, that's more than a bit Dark."

Sirius grinned. "I like the idea, and it's not very Dark at all. It was created to have a fast and humane way to slaughter farm animals." Sirius looked at Frank. "The darkness usually isn't in the spell, but in how you use it."

Frank considered that for a minute. "What about the Unforgivables?" he asked, curious to see how Sirius regarded them. While the Longbottoms and the Blacks were related, there was not a lot of contact between the two families. Not surprising, considering that the Black family had a long history of living up to their name, while the Longbottoms had been Aurors for seven generations.

Sirius frowned. "You're an Auror. How many times have you faced Death Eaters?"

Frank shrugged. "We've faced You Know Who three times, and various Death Eaters maybe a dozen times."

"Ever had to kill one of them?"

Frank sighed. "Yes." His eyes were far away as he thought about it. He was brought back to the present by Sirius.

"Is it really better to cut them in half, or drop something on them, or any of the other ways you're restricted to, than to end it quickly and suddenly, with a minimum of pain, and little risk to you?" Sirius looked at Frank soberly. "Again, the spell itself can be used to stop a Death Eater, or to kill an innocent person or child. Like any other spell, the usage defines the intent."

He looked up as Harry started crying. "Harry needs me. I will say this as I take your leave. The only spell I have found no good use for is the Cruciatus. That spell is purely Dark."

Frank watched Sirius go. He thought about how Sirius saw the use of spells and conceded that in a perfect world, he might be right. The world wasn't perfect though, and people were scared of anything they perceived as Dark, even if it wasn't. That made Sirius's opinions of those spells dangerous, should they become public knowledge.

"That was a fascinating conversation on comparative morality." Alice Longbottom sat down in the chair Sirius had left and looked at Frank. She was holding Neville and gently rocking him to sleep.

Frank nodded thoughtfully. "He has a point about many of those spells. Used properly, no one would ever complain about the beheading spell. If you only used it on animals, it wouldn't even raise eyebrows."

Alice shivered. "I beg to differ, Mr. Longbottom. I would wonder where you learned a spell like that, and why anyone was teaching it."

Frank smiled at his wife. "That's because you are a suspicious type, well suited to be the senior Auror of this team."

Alice glared at her husband, before a smile broke out on her face. "You're just trying to get me to take that position so I'll have to do most of the paperwork the Ministry wants, instead of us sharing it."

Frank sighed heavily, even as he leaned over to kiss Alice. "Curses. Foiled again."

Alice was about to say something else when they felt the wards shiver. Frank examined them, as they were tied to his bloodline. "Death Eaters," he swore after a second. "Come on. There's too many to fight out here."

The three of them ran for the house, Frank hanging back a bit, making sure his wife and son reached safety first.

He stopped just inside the door and locked it, reinforcing the lock with a spell. Alice was putting Neville in a playpen and drawing her wand. Frank looked out the window and swore again. "There's nearly twenty of them, and the one in the lead is a woman."

Alice hissed, in fear and anger. "Bellatrix Lestrange."

Frank looked up as Sirius came down the stairs holding Harry. "Sirius, we've got problems."

Sirius looked up, and as he started to say something, Anti-Apparation wards went up around the house. All three of them looked at each other. Augusta Longbottom came from the stairs, her wand firmly in hand.

Frank looked at his mother. "I thought you were going to your meeting."

"I was," she said calmly, "but I was playing with Harry and Neville and missed the start, so I decided to stay behind."

Frank opened his mouth to say something but stopped as a voice came from outside. "Oh Aurors, I want to give myself up." The mocking tone of Bellatrix's voice gave the lie to her words and Frank ignored her to plan the defence of his home and family.

Sirius grinned, a tight little smile. "Alice, may I borrow one of your House Elves for a minute?"

Alice blinked at the bizarre question. "Why?"

Sirius grinned wider. "I want to give my dear cousin a gift, and they are the only creatures I know that can remain unseen and get away unhurt."

Alice shrugged and called a House Elf. "Snicky, would you assist Mr. Black, please?"

The House Elf bobbed his head. "Of course, Mistress." He looked at Sirius. "How may I help the Black Sir?"

Sirius was rooting around in his pocket and pulled out a small vial. "Simple. There is a woman out there, only one. Just pour this on her and run. If it is too dangerous, don't worry about it."

The House Elf took the vial and went to a window. He opened the window and the vial vanished as he held it. He looked out of the window and concentrated. A minute later, he turned back to Sirius. "Done, Mr. Black sir."

Sirius grinned, and put Harry down with Neville. "I suggest everyone draw a wand. We're about to have company."

"SIRIUS BLACK!!" The shriek from outside was filled with anger and hate. "I"LL SHRED YOUR ORGANS FOR THIS!!"

"Promises, promises," Sirius called back, starting to laugh. "How's life on the run treating you, Cousin? Lost the rest of your mind yet?"

Sirius looked out the window, barely peeking around the edge of the window and grabbed Frank, pulling him away from the door as a scream from outside began the attack.

The front door of the house shivered in its frame and splinters shot out of it. Frank looked at the one sticking in his robes and frowned at Sirius. "What did you do to that madwoman?"

Sirius smirked. "Nothing much. It's merely an oil that makes all your hair fall out. The thing is, Bella has always been vain about her hair."

Frank and Alice looked at each other as they listened to the threats that were accompanied by magic slashing at the door and starting on the windows. "Sirius," said Alice after Bella started raving about slowly strangling Sirius with his own intestines, "If she gets her hands on you, you're going to regret having ever even thought about that."

"I know," Sirius said, listening to Bella threatening to castrate him with his own teeth, "but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun if there wasn't any risk."

The three adult Longbottoms looked at each other. Augusta put their thoughts into words. "Insanity has to run in the Black family. He's as crazy as she is."

The talk ended then as the door splintered again and broke under the abuse it had suffered.

Frank banished the first person in the door back out, directly into the path of the next two, knocking them all over.

Augusta chanted something and a Death Eater looking through a window screamed as the window exploded outwards, filling his face with glass.

Alice waited until her window had broken and a Death Eater put his arm inside. Before he could cast whatever spell he had in mind, she cast a spell. The bright blue light that came from her wand touched the Death Eater and he screamed as he went up in flames. Alice smirked. "Oops. Wrong fire spell. I never could keep Naphtha and Naphthalene straight."

Sirius laughed. "Oh, I like you. Want to run off and play jokes on everyone for a few years?"

He'd barely finished speaking when a Death Eater appeared in his window and he cast a cutting charm at him, slicing the mask off of the man and cutting his face from his left eye to his chin. "Learn to shave," Sirius called out the window, only to duck as Bellatrix sent an Avada Kedavra at him. He looked at the smoking hole behind him and then at the others. "I think she's a bit peeved with me," he said quietly.

The others were busy watching for more Death Eaters and only Frank replied to the inane comment. "I'll be peeved with you if you keep making offers to Alice."

Sirius sighed, a shadow crossing his face. "Sorry. I used to do things like that with James and Lily. Only it was Lily that usually threatened me afterwards."

Alice looked at him. "Fine. Sirius, one more comment like that and I'll have the House Elves throw you out to Bellatrix."

Sirius blinked and grinned. "That's what I like. A woman with spunk."

Augusta and Frank looked up and swore, nearly in unison. "They've started the house on fire."

Alice felt it a second later and looked at Neville and Harry. "The children. We have to get them out of here."

Sirius looked at the two boys. "We can do it. The three of you," He stopped to behead another Death Eater that popped up in his window and glance at Frank. "Was that Dark?"

Frank was banishing another one out the door again, but somehow missed the door, sending the Death Eater into a suit of armour standing next to the door. He watched calmly as the Death Eater kicked for a minute, impaled on the pike the Armour had in its hands. "Now that I think about it, I guess not."

Sirius grinned. "Now, the three of you can handle these goons if Bellatrix isn't there, so I'll deal with her, and you protect Harry until I get back."

Sirius waved his wand and muttered something. He looked at Frank. "By the way, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't see what you're about to see."

Frank frowned at him but before he could say anything, Sirius' motorcycle burst through the only unbroken window left. Sirius caught it as it rolled to a stop and mounted it. He looked at Alice. "Take care of Harry until I return."

The three Longbottoms watched as Sirius revved the bike and drove over a Death Eater coming in the door.

"Oh Bella, where are you?"

"Sirius!" came the reply. "I knew you were in there. That bike can't escape my Broomstick."

"Do you mean to say that you've finally learned to fly higher than three metres?"

The Death Eaters were watching the show until three curses from the house took three of them out in various ways.

Sirius led Bella on a wild ride through the woods behind Longbottom Manor, staying ahead only by the virtue of being in the lead and able to choose his path. The two cousins flashed through the trees, ducking and weaving madly. Bellatrix sent curses at Sirius every chance she got, narrowly missing him several times.

Sirius thought he could take Bellatrix in a fight, but the point here was to draw her away from the house. If he was wrong, and he lost, she had to be far enough away to give the Longbottoms time to deal with the other Death Eaters and escape. He flew on through the woods, ducking and weaving, stretching the time out so the Longbottoms could escape.

Bellatrix's anger was growing as Sirius avoided her every attack as if he was charmed. Bellatrix was not sane. She'd never been a normal person and the amount of mental damage she'd taken under the 'loving' touch of Voldemort had broken all the chains of sanity in her mind. She had several reasons in her mind to kill Sirius, preferably in a long and slow way, with lots of attention to the finer points of hurting him. First, he'd betrayed the family, joining the Light side. The Black family had been supporters of Wizard supremacy for ten generations and Sirius had thrown that all away. Second, he opposed Bella's god, Lord Voldemort. Voldemort was on the path of immortality and he would take the best of his people with him when he was ready. Bella meant to be one of those few, even if she had to kill half of Britain's population to do it.

This thing he'd done to her hair was just another reason to kill him slowly.

For his part, Sirius was concentrating mostly on manoeuvring the more cumbersome motorcycle and could only send occasional insults back at his cousin. Sirius winced as a familiar looking green light flashed by his head. He had about ten seconds of cover left and then he'd be in the open where the Broomstick would catch him easily.

He sighed and reached for a switch he'd installed in case of emergency. This definitely qualified. Sirius flashed past the last tree and stood the bike on end, pointing straight up. He gave it all the power it had and looked back.

Bellatrix came out of the trees and heard the bike above her. She looked up and was after Sirius in an instant. She was grinning manically and pointing her wand at Sirius. "Goodbye, cousin Sirius," she called mockingly as she closed the distance rapidly. "I can't say it been a pleasure, yet. That's going to change, right now."

Sirius watched her and as she opened her mouth he flipped the switch. Bellatrix's spell struck Sirius an instant later He faltered, and the bike power cut off. It continued to fly up for a second, until gravity reclaimed it.

Bella slowed, watching the bike come closer. "Don't you hate that? All the magic we know, and you'll die because of a total body bind, a first year spell."

As the bike came closer, Sirius suddenly disappeared. Bellatrix Lestrange glared at the bike for a second in furious disbelief. "NO! You won't escape that easy!" she screamed, casting another spell at the falling bike, now only metres from her.

The last thing she saw was the bright flash as the bike exploded, sending shrapnel and bits everywhere.

Back at Longbottom Manor, the three Longbottoms had quickly wiped up the remaining Death Eaters and were looking for a sign of Sirius when a fireball erupted behind the house, nearly a hundred metres up. It was at least forty metres across and they looked at each other. Frank and Alice ran for their Broomsticks while Augusta watched over the boys.

They found bits of a Broomstick and of Sirius' bike, but no trace of either of the combatants. They watched as the fire burned out of control and made their plans.

They were just finishing when another party of Death Eaters came looking for their friends. The Longbottoms and Harry Potter were trapped between a burning house and Death Eaters with no cover in sight.

_**OoOoOoO Sirius Black's house, 04Nov1981. OoOoOoO**_

Remus was pacing and snarling. He'd seen Peter for just a second today, and he appeared to be in perfect health, which meant he'd betrayed James and Lily. The sight of him and the realization that he'd helped kill two of Remus' only friends had nearly brought the Wolf out in broad daylight.

They had been on a Muggle street though, and Remus had fought the Wolf back. By the time he'd controlled it, Peter was gone and Remus couldn't risk finding him again right then. He wasn't sure he could control the Wolf again, not if he'd gotten close to Peter.

He was waiting for a potion to finish and then he was going to the Longbottom's house to tell Sirius what he'd seen.

He stopped suddenly as the wards around Sirius' house flared and something struck the side of the house a resounding blow. He ran outside, looking up and saw a body falling from the side of the house where a huge dent showed the point of impact. The body hit the ground and lay still.

Remus kept his wand pointed at it as he crossed to it. It was the scent that told him who it was. He dropped his wand and ran, skidding to a stop on his knees as he turned Sirius over.

His breath caught in his throat. Sirius was a mess. His shirt was gone and every inch of his upper body was either burnt or shredded of skin, and in some places, charred flesh combined both aspects of his injuries. From the way he moved when Remus picked him up, there weren't very many intact bones either.

Remus glanced at the dent in the side of the house as he hurried inside. Hitting the house hard enough to cave it in would account for the broken bones and shredded skin, but where had the burns come from?

He was already pouring potions down Sirius' throat when he remembered a drunken conversation just after they had left school.

"_Of course it's dangerous," said a tipsy Sirius, "Thasht why it's fer emercenslies only." He shook his head and tried again. "Emergencies only."_

_Remus and James had looked at him. James had tilted his head in that gesture that was him getting curious. "So, if you're having an emergency, you flip the switch, and what happens?"_

_Sirius had grinned drunkenly. "Thee things. I turn invishible first. Five seconds later, puff! Sirius is gone, Portkeyed away." He thought about what he'd just said. "I mean, Poof! I'm gone."_

"_And the third thing?" Remus asked, already seeing the hole in this scheme. From the look on James' face, he saw it as well._

_Sirius frowned. "It's my bike. No one else can have it. It goes Boom."_

_Remus and James looked at each other. "Sirius," James said patiently, "Where do you go?"_

"_My hoose, House," he said proudly._

"_Sirius, how fast do you go on that motorcycle?" James asked._

"_As fash as I can," Sirius glared at Remus. "Unless the scaredy wolf there is wif me." He looked at James and lowered his voice to a whisper so Remus couldn't hear him. "He don't like fash."_

_Remus looked at the drunken man sitting next to him and sighed. "I don't mind fast, but you want to break the speed of light." he said defensively._

"_See?" Sirius appealed to James. "He don't like fash."_

_James rolled his eyes. "Sirius, if you're moving at fifty kilometres an hour when you use the Portkey, you'll still be moving that fast when you get to your house."_

_Sirius thought about that for a few minutes. Suddenly it sank into his inebriated head. "That would not be good, would it?"_

"_Hitting the house at fifty kilometres an hour?" James said with heavy sarcasm. "You'd bust the house, especially if you hit head first."_

_Remus snickered. "If he hit head first, he'd go through the house."_

_Sirius looked offended. "Hey, what about my head?"_

_James and Remus grinned at each other. They turned to Sirius and smirked. "It would be fine. It's too hard to be damaged by a mere house."_

_Sirius nodded. "Oh, OK."_

_Remus and James waited, but Sirius passed out before realizing what they'd just said._

Remus frowned as he worked feverishly to save Sirius. He'd run out of potions he could use already, and now he was racking his brain for every healing spell he'd ever learned.

There had been quite a few of them, since occasionally the Marauders had bitten off more than they could chew in their escapades. He blinked at that thought.

There was a way to save Sirius. Remus could call up his Wolf and bite Sirius. The disease would keep Sirius alive, since none of his injuries were from Silver or any of the things that could seriously hurt a Werewolf.

Remus shook his head, trying to forget that thought, but it wouldn't go away as he watched Sirius' vital signs ebb away. He cast every spell he knew, until he couldn't cast any more, and still it was not enough.

He frowned as he listened to Sirius' heartbeat. It was getting weaker and starting to beat erratically.

Remus looked at his last living friend and thought about all the years ahead without him. He looked at the injuries he could not fix and Sirius' pale skin and made his decision.

_**OoOoOoO Here and Now, 25FEB2007 OoOoOoO**_

_Hehe... I love cliffies. I hope you enjoy this. I know it was a bit violent and bloody, but it always seemed to me that the first part of the Voldemort War was just like that. Flush in his power, and with Death Eaters behind him that had never known defeat, Voldemort and crew would have been more violent and sadistic. One doesn't use caution or learn fear until one has been beaten at least once._

_Coming next time:_

_More Dumbledore, we may find out what happened to Bella, (maybe), Remus' decision, and the Longbottoms. And as a special Bonus, Harry and Neville._

_Revised Notes: There is one major change in this chapter and I'll award ten house points to the first person to find it. There were also a few minor changes, covering things people mentioned in reviews or that I thought needed clarification. I also added two whole lines not in the first version, just to make my cliffie more fun for me._

_Raven_


	3. Betrayal

_I'm sorry about the delay, but I don't have an internet connection at the house right now. I have finally found the time to use a public internet connection, so here is the third chapter of this story. I have to offer up a warning: It's going to get bloodier before the end. I don't do graphic violence, but the images your own mind should supply when I tell you what is happening should be bloody enough. Also, we're not going to go anywhere near Canon, except in the broadest sense. Harry will go to Hogwarts... and Voldemort will be back._

_**Harry Potter and the Bonds of Blood**_

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Disturbing Discoveries**_

_**OoOoOoO 04NOV1981, Somewhere in Ireland. OoOoOoO**_

Remus stumbled through the Floo, nearly dropping Sirius. "Madame Morgana! I need your help."

A woman came out of a doorway and looked at Sirius. She started working on Sirius even as she looked at Remus. "We will discuss my payment as soon as your friend is stable. You will owe me for this, Remus Lupin."

Remus sat back on his heels and watched the Witch work. Madame Morgana was not the type of person that most wizards knew. Remus only knew her because his parents had brought him to her when he was bitten, hoping she could do something about his Curse.

She hadn't been able to do anything about his Curse, but in return for Werewolf blood and fur, she'd provided a safe haven for the young Werewolf to change. Since then, she had tried to offer Remus other services in return for his blood and fur, but an older Remus had finally understood what she did with those things she collected from him, and he had turned her down.

It had taken a great deal of thought and courage to do, for Madame Morgana was Dark, very Dark. She created custom Curses for people, if they had the gold to pay for them, and the will to use them. Having seen first hand what she did in those younger days, Remus really didn't want her angry with him.

She had taken his refusal calmly, and left him in her Floo access. "One day, Remus Lupin, you will need my services. When you do, remember that I have always treated you fairly, if harshly."

Remus shook off the memories as Madame Morgana raised her head. "Help me get him to the lab. I have done all I can here."

Remus carefully lifted his friend, relieved beyond words to note that Sirius no longer flopped like a sack, and that most of his bones seemed to be healing. "How did your friend get so battered?" asked Morgana as she led Remus down the hall to her workshop. "I have not seen injuries that severe in many years."

Remus growled softly. "He used a Portkey while moving in excess of fifty Kilometres an hour, and collided with a house at the end."

Madame Morgana opened a door and looked at Remus. "Well, that explains the broken state of nearly every bone in his body, and the bruising that's going to have him a colourful sort, but how did he get burned?"

Remus followed her into the large room and looked around before answering. Madame Morgana's workshop was a cross between the Potions dungeon at Hogwarts and a chamber of horrors. Several potions were bubbling away against the north wall, and the east wall was a collection of potion supplies and other things less easily recognized. Along the south wall, books fought for space with scrolls and other things with older writings on them. The scholar in Remus stirred at the accumulation of centuries of learning, but he fought it down. That knowledge would be Dark, and not the sort of thing Remus wanted to delve too deeply into. "I assume that the third part of his escape plan exploded too soon, and he was caught in the blast."

Down the centre of the room, four worktables were lined up neatly, and two of them were obviously designed to hold humanoid figures. Remus's wolf snarled as he saw the remains of a Werewolf on the closest of those two tables.

Madame Morgana ignored all of that, leading Remus to the empty table. "Place your friend here, please, and get me the green potion from the left-hand side of the red cabinet." Remus set Sirius down and turned toward the wall he had not examined yet.

The west wall was lined with a dozen cabinets, and had a single desk near the middle of the wall. Remus saw the red cabinet and took a step toward it, only to freeze. Next to that cabinet was a cage, and a man stood in the cage. He was naked but for a loincloth and bore the marks of long incarceration. He was dirty, with welts from sleeping on the bars that made up his cage and the unkempt look of a person too long without comb, razor or scissors.

Remus steeled himself and went past the man to the red cabinet and opened the left side. There was only one green coloured potion in there and he took it down, turning to retrace his steps. "Please, Sir, for Merlin's sake, free me from this hell." The prisoner spoke softly, but Remus could hear the terror and despair that mingled in his voice. He passed him by, not willing to do anything until Sirius was better, and not particularly interested in taking that man's place.

He handed the potion to Madame Morgana, and glanced again at the man in the cage. She saw his glance and smiled grimly. "Before you begin feeling sorry for that being, you should ask him why he's in there. You know me, Remus Lupin, as well as any do these days. Have I ever been one to cage anything, no matter what their crime?"

Remus frowned thoughtfully. Madame Morgana had Cursed many people, and sold hundreds more Curses, most of which were Darker than anything in Remus's nightmares, but she had not been one for imprisoning intelligent beings. Of course, that might be because the people stupid enough to annoy her usually died rather suddenly.

Before he could say anything, she spoke again. "Away with you, Remus Lupin. I need to concentrate on your friend here, and I can not do that with you hovering there. You know where the library is, and there are some new things there since last you darkened my door." An instant of very real humour lightened her face for an instant. "Some of them you might even be willing to read."

Remus bit his lip but turned slowly away. He could not help her and he would be hovering if he stayed. He paused at the door, looking back. "I have a question, if you don't mind."

Madame Morgana looked up for a second. "You wish to know how I know so much about a Light Art like Healing, don't you." The statement was not a question, and Remus nodded.

"Remus Lupin, I make Curses and spells to hurt people. How then, could I make them well, if I did not know what the human body can take, and what happens to it when my Curse takes affect?" She smirked. "Plus, it helps when someone comes to me to have a Curse removed."

Remus nodded and turned to leave, but Madame Morgana had one more thing to say. "I suggest, Remus Lupin, that you be very polite to my apprentice. She is quick to anger and has fewer morals about doing something about that anger than I do."

Remus let the door shut behind him and went up the hall toward the library. A much younger Remus had spent days in the library, waiting for the full moon or recovering from the effects of another transformation. Few people knew it, but it was in this very house that the young boy had been exposed to the thought of higher learning and a love of learning for learning's sake.

His enhanced senses caught the sounds of someone in the library before he reached the room and he assumed this would be the apprentice Morgana had mentioned. Keeping her warning firmly in mind, as he had no desire to see what a woman with less morals than Morgana would do if he annoyed her, he made enough noise coming in the room that even a normal human would notice him.

He stopped just inside the door, looking around while the woman inside examined him. He looked at the woman and the hackles rose on the back of his neck. Someone, at some time in this woman's past had cut her badly. She had not been able to get magical healing for it either, because no healing Remus knew of would leave a scar nearly two centimetres wide on her face, running diagonally from just above her right eye, down across her nose and cheek to a point just under her left ear.

"Are you staring at me for a reason, or are you simply too stupid to talk?" Remus blinked, startled at her voice. Even with the heated undertones of hate and anger that laced it, her voice was beautiful, a sweet melody that flowed around the ear, captivating the listener with its tones alone.

He shook his head. "I was merely wondering how to approach you, as Madame Morgana told me that you were here."

The woman sneered. "You mean she told you that pissing me off would get your entrails pulled out of your body through your ears."

Remus blinked again at that image, and hearing an Angel's voice describing a scene from hell. He shrugged. "I don't believe she put it in exactly those terms, but she may have mentioned something about you being a bit angry." He raised an eyebrow as he thought about what she'd said. "Do you actually know a spell that will do that?"

She smirked at him. "No, but I have a very sharp knife and I'm more than willing to get my hands bloody."

Remus took a step into the library. "I see. Since I am only here to read while Madame Morgana looks after a friend of mine, I hope we won't have to worry about it coming to that. You might get blood all over the books." Remus kept his voice low and non threatening as he went to the shelf that had been for the less dangerous books. He continued to watch the woman as he crossed the room and he was glad to be able to turn to the books to hide his look of pity and shock.

If you could look past the scar on her face, she was every bit as beautiful as her voice. Had it not been for the scar and the look of anger which seemed to be a permanent part of her expression, she would have been the single most beautiful woman Remus had ever seen.

He couldn't quite tell under those Witch's robes she wore, but the few outlines he could see suggested that her body would match. Remus controlled his voice, allowing none of the pity he felt to show as he spoke to her again. "My name is Remus Lupin, and you are?"

"Maire Connelly."

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Connelly. I shall refrain from bothering you further and get to my research."

Remus began scanning the titles on the shelf, ignoring any that he knew. He was looking for information on the Bonds of Blood charm that had been used on Harry, and he knew he'd never heard of it before he read Lily's book, so anything he'd already read was eliminated from the start.

Remus was worried about the cut on Harry's forehead. It had taken nearly two days to heal it enough that it would stop oozing blood and Remus was afraid it was going to cause other problems. Since Madame Morgana knew more about curses than anyone alive, Remus was hoping to find something in her library that would explain why it was so hard to heal, and if there would be any side effects later.

"You seem familiar with her library, so I have to assume that you know that there are better books on curses in the shelves on the west wall."

Remus looked up at Maire's comment. "I do know that, Miss Connelly, as I know that those books are Dark, and best approached with care."

Maire frowned at Remus. "You come here, to Madame Morgana's house and you're worried about Light and Dark? What manner of man are you?" Maire's tone was clinical, as if she was examining a new type of bug.

"I am not Dark, and I try even to stay out of the grey areas. I have enough problems without people wondering about what aspect of magic I follow," Remus said with a trace of irony. He knew that most Wizards would consider him a Dark creature simply because he was a Werewolf.

Few of those people would even look under his Curse to see the man underneath. Remus was a good man, not from desire, but because he was. It was as much a part of his being as his skin, and he was satisfied to be so. He no more wanted to change that then Sirius would try to change his nature, or James had tried to change his.

Maire was watching him with a frown. "Why would she let someone like you in here? You do not have any of the ways of her normal visitors. What keeps you from telling the authorities where to find her?"

Remus shrugged, beginning to tire of the third degree. "I have my reasons," he said shortly, returning to the book he was perusing, hoping that would end her questions.

A loud huff, as of a woman deciding to be insulted told him that his hopes had been in vain, but before either of them could say any more, the door opened. Madame Morgana came in and sat at a table. She was clearly tired and looked at Remus. "Your friend will live, Remus Lupin. He will need a month or so of rest and many more potions, which I will expect you to help make, but he will be nearly as good as new when the treatment is over."

Remus nodded, focusing on the one word that bothered him. "Nearly?"

Madame Morgana shrugged. "He is strong and healthy, but none of that can help when the bones are powdered. He will lose some function of his left knee. I will not know how much for a few days, but I hope to keep it down to a slight limp."

Remus sighed. He rose and bowed formally to Madame Morgana. "You have done far more than I could. I am in your debt."

Madame Morgana nodded. "I know. We will discuss what I want, Remus Lupin, but I think you know what it will be already."

Remus nodded heavily. "You will want more blood and fur." He looked at her. "I will do it, because I owe you, but I would know why."

Madame Morgana shrugged. "I am seeking a cure."

Remus stared at her, stunned. Of all the reasons that he had thought of over the years for Madame Morgana to want the blood and fur of a Werewolf, that one had never crossed his mind. He frowned as he wondered if he'd been misjudging her for nearly a decade.

Madame Morgana watched the play of emotions across his face and smiled. "Don't start doubting yourself, Remus Lupin. I don't plan on giving it away, or even letting it become common knowledge that I have one, should I find it." She smiled thinly. "I have no love for humanity, nor Wizards or Werewolves. I see a great potential for profit though. One willing Werewolf to bite people, and a cure only I can give them, will allow me to milk the richer Wizard families for more than enough money to last me forever."

Remus frowned. "I will not bite people for you, not even for this debt."

The Witch smiled again. "I know that, Remus Lupin. I said a willing Werewolf. How many of your fellow Werewolves would bite five people for me, if I gave them the cure after the fifth bite, or even simply paid them to bite people?"

Remus was thinking about what she was planning until her next words drove all thought of her scheme out of his head. "Now, I do want to know why an agent of Albus Dumbledore is seeking you, a man named Sirius Black and The Boy Who Lived."

Remus frowned. They had told Hagrid to tell Professor Dumbledore that they would be in contact in about a week, so why would he be looking for them? Was there something they had to know? He was wondering how to get in touch with the Headmaster when Madame Morgana sighed.

"Remus Lupin, what have you gotten yourself involved in this time?"

Remus frowned at Maire. "I am sorry, but I don't know you well enough to trust you with this."

Maire's eyes narrowed and she was flushing a dark red, which made her scar look worse, as it stayed the pale white of scar tissue. "Maire has my trust, Remus Lupin. She is bound by oaths that I would not break."

Remus frowned, but as neither woman moved, and Madame Morgana was waiting, he told her what had happened over the last five days.

When he was done she sighed. "Remus, you have stumbled into something that is far too big for you."

Remus frowned. "What do you mean?"

She closed her eyes and thought for a minute. "Remus Lupin, have you seen the Prophet in the last three days?"

Remus frowned. "No," he admitted, "I've been too busy to stop and read it."

Madame Morgana waved her hand at a table and several papers flew into Remus' lap. He picked the first one up and read the headline.

"_**Sirius Black takes You-Know-Who's place!"**_

Remus had to read the headline twice to be sure he'd read it right and then turned his attention to the story under it.

"_Sirius Black, acting in concert with a known werewolf, one Remus J. Lupin, has announced his assumption of You-Know-Who's group. The way he made his statement equalled anything the previous Dark Lord has done as he attacked and killed every person on the Longbottom Estate yesterday. Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt had this to say about the attack: "We're having a hard time determining just how many people are dead, but Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom are missing, along with their son Neville and Augusta Longbottom. They may still be in the mansion, but the damage from the battle and the fires was complete. We are assuming they are dead unless one of them comes forward to prove otherwise."_

_According to the investigation, Sirius Black attacked the house with a group of You-Know-Who's forces, commonly called Death Eaters and met heavy resistance. Sirius Black had a Muggle thing called a motorbike and the remains of it were found on the estate. At some point during the battle, it was destroyed, but Black apparently managed to escape. In the process, he kidnapped Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. The current whereabouts of Black and The Boy Who Lived are unknown._

_The same can not be said for the twenty-seven dead Death Eaters the Black Lord left behind. All of them were dead, but they show a disturbing new trend to this Dark Lord's plans. You-Know-Who has always recruited his people from the Slytherin House graduates, but at least four of the people that died in the battle were from the other houses of Hogwarts and one was from a school outside England entirely._

_Peter Pettigrew, long time friend of the Potters, spoke about Sirius Black. "He was always jealous of James. After Black's family threw him out for something that he did, it got worse. James had a good life and Sirius grew more and more Dark that last year or so. We all knew that there was a spy on the light side, and some of us suspected Sirius, but James trusted him._

_Until he betrayed the Potters to You-Know-Who._

_Sirius was their Secret-Keeper, he had to tell the Death Eaters where the Potters were. Since the only people to come out of Godric's Hollow that night were Death Eaters, we may never know exactly what Sirius did, but I think he took Harry Potter after Harry stopped You-Know-Who. I shudder every time I think about that poor boy, orphaned and in the hands of the man who orphaned him. I can only believe that Black has some horribly evil plan for Harry."_

_The Prophet is calling on every Witch and Wizard to help find Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived._

_Sirius Black and his right hand man, Remus Lupin, must be found and Harry Potter saved from whatever nefarious scheme they have. With the Black Lord looking for Dark Wizards from everywhere, and having The Boy Who Lived in his power, he constitutes a threat worse than any to emerge since the last Goblin Rebellion._

"_Sirius Black is a rebel. He listens to no one now living and charts his own course, no matter the cost to others. He can be a very dangerous man. With Remus Lupin at his side, Sirius Black could be the worst danger to Wizards ever." That was Albus Dumbledore's assessment of the situation as the Wizengamot met in emergency session this morning. The Daily Prophet will let their readers know what the Wizengamot is doing as soon as they come out of that session._

_Until then, any sighting of the Black Lord, Remus J. Lupin or The Boy That Lived should be reported to the Aurors, who have several teams waiting to respond to any reports._

_Help us save The Boy Who Lived from this madman."_

Remus looked at the date on the paper. This had happened yesterday. He looked at Madame Morgana in confusion. "I don't understand. Hagrid and Professor Dumbledore both knew what was happening, Why is the Professor allowing this to happen? He should be telling them that we hid Harry."

Remus stopped as his face went pale. "Harry," he moaned. "Where is Harry?"

_**OoOoOoO 04NOV1981, The Longbottom Estate. OoOoOoO**_

Kingsley Shacklebolt rubbed his eyes. He had been here for nearly forty-eight hours now and any hope of finding a survivor of the Death Eater attack was fast fading. He cursed Sirius. Looking back, it was easy to see that Sirius had to be the traitor in the Order of the Phoenix and he wondered again how they had been so blind.

"Sir, you might want to come see this." Kingsley looked up as the grim voice of the Auror registered. He followed the Auror in to the ruins of the Longbottom Mansion. The Auror spoke again. "We were clearing debris, looking for clues and bodies. We found a concealed room under the kitchen. It appears to have been a root cellar at one time, and has been converted into a hiding place."

Shacklebolt looked into the pit. It had not survived the magical flames that had destroyed the rest of the house, but the wards on it made the destruction a little less complete. The charred and unrecognisable bodies of three adults were clearly visible.

It took him a second longer to realize that two of those bodies were holding small children in their arms.

_**OoOoOoO Here and Now. OoOoOoO**_

_Hm. Am I mean enough to leave you wondering exactly what happened after Sirius left the Longbottom Estate?_

_Yes._

_See you next time._

_Alas, I found several things to clarify and change in this chapter and I hope you're enjoying this._

_Raven_


	4. Secrets, Allies and Kin

_Here we go. It's time to find out just what is going on. And more important, it's time to find out what happened to the owl James sent in Chapter One. Artemis delivered her letter and things are going to start happening._

_**Harry Potter and the Bonds of Blood**_

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Secrets, Allies and Kin**_

_**OoOoOoO The Kinship Society, Somewhere in London. 04NOV81 OoOoOoO**_

"We have gathered, as you requested. What is so important that you call us together like this?"

The man who had been addressed stood up. "I didn't call us together. James Potter did."

The group of people looked at each other and the man standing before them. "James Potter is dead." The speaker was the same woman that had asked why they were called together. "Murdered by You-Know-Who."

The man nodded slowly and held up a piece of parchment. "The night he died, James Potter sent this to me. I have checked his family codes, and they are correct. This missive is from James Potter." He held it up and began to read.

"_To: The Kinship Society._

_Voldemort is about to kill us, but if our spell has worked properly, Harry cannot be directly harmed by Voldemort. He will be left alone in the world. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin should be raising him, and I ask that you help them in whatever way they need. Under no circumstances is Harry to be left with the Dursleys._

_I ask for the Vengeance Hex to be cast on Peter Pettigrew. He has betrayed us, being the Secret Keeper for the Fidelius Charm we were under. I ask this by our Oaths and our mutual interests._

_James Potter."_

The man looked up into the dead silence that followed the reading. "As I have said, James Potter's codes have been checked, and this is from him, written a day or two before the deaths of the Potters. The bit about Peter Pettigrew was added Halloween night, and is in the same hand as the rest of the letter."

One of the people in the group smiled fondly. "James always had a back up plan in his pranks and tomfoolery. It's good to see he never lost that touch."

One of the others sighed. "Helping Black and Lupin will be difficult, against the Wizengamot and Dumbledore in particular."

The men in the front of the crowd nodded. "It will, but James asked this on our Oaths. Are you willing to be forsworn?"

The woman who had made the comment shook her head. "Not a chance. I will cast the Vengeance Hex myself, if we can pry Pettigrew away from Dumbledore long enough to do it."

The man nodded. "Indeed. I have been reading the papers, and I have started wondering just why Dumbledore is backing Pettigrew. He has to suspect something. Albus Dumbledore is not stupid and he is a good judge of character. Why is he backing a man that must feel wrong to him? After all, of all the people in the world, I would never expect Sirius Black to betray James Potter. They were closer than most brothers."

The group debated the situation for more than three hours. Finally they decided on their goals and a tentative plan of action.

Assigned their duties, the group Apparated away to begin the clearing of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin's names.

_**OoOoOoO Remus and Sirius, Madame Morgana's Home, 05NOV81 OoOoOoO**_

Remus stared at the headlines of the Daily Prophet in horror. He had been staring at them for over a minute, refusing to believe what he saw.

"_**Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, Slain by the Black Lord!!**_

_Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt confirmed today that tests show the bodies recovered yesterday from the remains of the Longbottom Estate are of three adults, Augusta Longbottom, Auror Frank Longbottom and his wife Auror Alice Longbottom._

_The three adults were found in a hidden room, where they apparently fled to hide from the Death Eaters of The Black Lord. In the arms of the two women were found the charred bodies of two children. One of the was Neville Longbottom, son of Frank and Alice Longbottom._

_The other has been confirmed as Harry Potter._

_Just days ago, Harry Potter saved us all, by destroying You-Know-Who, and surviving a Killing Curse. Just over one year old, people who knew the Potters describe little Harry as a cute young tyke, full of laughter and fun. Now, because of the disgusting betrayal of his closest friends, the Black Lord has reduced our Hero, the Boy Who Lived, to an unrecognisable mass of burnt flesh._

_The bright young tyke is no more. One of the Wizard world's shining lights has been brutally snuffed out._

_The Aurors used Polyjuice Potions mixed with bits of the deceased to identify the bodies, as they were all burned to such a degree that normal means of identification were impossible. This is standard practice for cases such as this._

_The Black Lord, Sirius Black has reportedly been seen in dozens of places, but none of them have been confirmed by the Aurors. Minister Baghold has authorized the Aurors to use any force needed to bring down the reprehensible Black Lord. This includes the use of the Unforgivables on Black and his people._

_In related news, with Sirius Black on the loose, Death Eaters that have been captured are being shipped straight to Azkaban after Veritaserum interrogation to determine other Death Eaters.. They are not getting a trial, if they have the Dark Mark on their left forearms._

_According to renown Curse Expert Herman Granville, the Dark Mark cannot be forced on a person, nor given while they are under the Imperius. It must be accepted willingly and is being considered a Dark Wizard's mark, much as the changing of a werewolf is their sign of Darkness._

_To date, Lucius Malfoy and fourteen others (see list on page 7,) are being interrogated for information. Besides Black and Lupin, Aurors are still looking for Bellatrix Lestrange and the Lestrange brothers. Those three are probably with the new Black Lord._

_Normally, this reporter attempts to remain calm and collected, reporting the news, but not being affected by it. In this case, where the Black Lord has killed the saviour of our world, and destroyed two families lines utterly, I have to say that I hope he rots in Azkaban rather than being Kissed by a Dementor._

_Such a short end is not right. He should suffer for years, with every good thought he has stripped away from him until he rots in a mental pool of death and horror, knowing that he failed to become the ruler of us all._

_**Torment to Sirius Black."**_

Remus finally managed to read past the headlines and finish the story. He looked at Sirius, still unconscious in a spare bed of Madame Morgana's. _"What happened at the Estate, Sirius? Where is Harry?"_ he thought, resisting the urge to shake Sirius awake and demand answers. He sighed and thought about the rest of the article.

Remus was reluctantly beginning to believe that Professor Dumbledore was allowing this for some reason of his own. He didn't know what it was, but it had better be good. The Auror were likely to kill the two of them on sight. The Aurors were Bobbies of a sort, and like Bobbies the world over, they would not look kindly on someone that had killed one of their own, and Frank and Alice had been well liked.

Add the official permission to use the Killing curse on the two of them, and Remus thought it very likely that neither of them would get even half a chance to tell their side of the story.

Remus began thinking about how the Marauders were going to get out of this one. Something told him it would be a lot harder than avoiding Filch and Mrs. Norris had been.

Especially since it seemed that Professor Dumbledore was no longer on their side. That betrayal hurt Remus deeply.

_**OoOoOoO The Longbottoms, Somewhere in England, 05NOV81. OoOoOoO**_

Frank looked at Alice after he finished reading the article to the others. "OK, we fooled the Aurors with some hairs and a bit of blood. We know that something is badly out of place, but we're not sure if Sirius was lying to us, or Dumbledore is doing this for reasons of his own. Suggestions, anyone?"

Frank rubbed his hand over his bare scalp as he waited for the two women to think about it. The two boys, sleeping in the other room were as bald as Frank was, having had to provide enough hair to insure some survived the fire and that the Aurors would use the Polyjuice Potion.

Alice sighed. "I hate to say this, but we're going to have to come out of hiding soon. The hatred against Sirius is rising too high, too fast. If he is found before we come forward, he'll be killed, one way or another."

Augusta nodded. "She is correct. While I would prefer to stay hidden until we knew who the true enemy was, Sirius and Remus deserve better than this." She rubbed her head sadly. The two ladies had very short hair as well. "All that hair gone for no good reason."

Frank frowned. "Not really," he disagreed, "we're going to have to come back to life soon and very publicly, so that we can get a couple of balls in the air before anyone can stop us, and that is going to have to include Professor Dumbledore for now, until we can talk to him and figure out why he is allowing this slander."

He frowned. "Sirius said that Hagrid was told about Pettigrew and Hagrid must have told Dumbledore that night. We know that Albus Dumbledore was at Godric's Hollow and the Auror headquarters that night, and in the Ministry the next day."

Alice nodded. "Unless Sirius lied to us, and after the protectiveness he showed toward Harry and how broken up he was when he appeared at our door, I can't see that being true."

Augusta frowned, reluctant to say anything, but having to present the possibility. "What if Sirius was distraught that night over the death of Voldemort, and wants Harry for some purpose of his own? One that might be a bit Darker than raising Harry for the Potters?"

Frank and Alice considered that for a minute but Alice shook her head. "Sirius cares for Harry, and Harry likes him, we've all seen that. I can't believe Sirius is so Dark he could sacrifice a child, especially not one he likes."

Frank nodded. "He had the trust of the Potters, both good people, and of Remus, and that is not a man who would allow anyone that Dark to be his friend. Remus Lupin is a good man."

Frank began pacing around the room. "The first thing we're going to do is get in contact with that reporter. We show him, Kingsley Shacklebolt and old Moody that we're alive and well, and then we tell them Sirius' story. That should put out enough doubt that we can demand Veritaserum for Pettigrew and get it."

Alice nodded. "Just to make sure we have a wide range of support, we should include a couple of Ministry officials. Who would be good for that?"

Augusta looked up. "Arthur Weasley. A bit daft, but easily the most honest man in the Ministry. Amos Diggory is a good man as well."

Frank nodded, writing the names down. "Right. We have the who, the what and the why. Now all we need is the where and when."

_**OoOoOoO Lemos Veritaseek, The Daily Prophet, 06NOV81. OoOoOoO**_

Lemos was a good reporter, with an eye for a story and a way of uncovering the deepest secrets. This time though, the story was coming to him. His owl mail this morning had included three different invitations from various people, some of whom identified themselves, some of whom didn't.

The interesting thing about all of the invitations, was that they were all about the same thing, Harry Potter and the Black Lord.

He considered the notes thoughtfully, and decided to go to the first one, as he'd be joining Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt and Senior Auror Alastair Moody for it and they would have a Portkey to the meeting site.

Depending on how that meeting went, he'd go to the other two, especially if he could get one or both of the Aurors to go with him. He couldn't be too careful. After all, he had written some very harsh things about the new Black Lord, and Dark Wizards tended to show their displeasure in extreme ways.

Having made that decision, Lemos went on about his day. He was writing a profile of Peter Pettigrew, who seemed to be the only one of the Potter's friends that hadn't gone Dark, or been working with You-Know-Who. He deserved a bit of recognition for that, and Lemos was going to give it to him.

_**OoOoOoO Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts. 06NOV81. OoOoOoO**_

Professor Dumbledore looked at Severus Snape. "You don't look so good, Severus. What is wrong?" He thought he knew what was wrong, but he wanted to see if Severus had figured it out yet.

Snape looked up and nearly snarled. "I suppose I don't. I have nightmares and aches that will not go away. I owed that git Potter a Life debt and he's dead. I cannot pay it back, and with his child dead, I can't even hope to pay it to him one day."

Severus Snape stood up and began pacing back and forth. "It's a constant pain in the back of my skull. No potion numbs it, no amount of drinking can ease it, I feel it always, even as I sleep. I think it has gotten worse as well. I think it is because I caused his death, even indirectly, and the debt is making me pay for that."

"I would not be so quick to write off Harry Potter, if I were you, Severus." Albus Dumbledore thought, ignoring Snape's raised eyebrow and his flashing of the headline. Albus Dumbledore knew that a fire, an event not aimed at Harry, could kill him.

It was far too easy though, and Albus knew that Sirius was not a Dark Lord. Rebellious, yes. Unwilling to follow another, except James Potter, yes. Dark, no. The only reason Albus wanted Sirius out of the way was that Sirius had total control of Harry Potter, and Albus wouldn't allow that.

Harry could be a major player in the Wizard world, used properly, but Sirius didn't give a damn about politics or guiding others. Remus could be reasoned with, or at worst, controlled because of his condition.

James Potter had been mellowed by Lily, and understood doing something for the greater good. He had gotten Sirius to do things because Sirius thought of him as a brother. Sirius respected Albus, but not enough to stir himself. Witness his refusal to do anything about Voldemort until James asked him for help.

Severus had listened to the silence long enough. "With all due respect, Albus, Harry Potter was identified by the Aurors."

Albus nodded. "He was indeed. However, consider this. The Longbottoms have been Aurors for seven generations, and they know the procedures as well as anyone. And, I know that Sirius did not lead the attack on the Longbottoms. I assume Bellatrix did."

Snape blinked and thought about that. "How do you know Sirius didn't lead the attack? I have no problem believing he'd turn Dark, and the fact that he betrayed the." His voice trailed off at the look on Dumbledore's face. "He didn't betray the Potters." That was a statement, not a question. "Who was the Secret Keeper then?"

Albus frowned. "I am not certain yet, but I think the Potters pointed all the clues at Sirius and chose either Remus or Peter." He sighed heavily. "Given that Remus was with Sirius the night the Potters died, I think it was Pettigrew. That is the reason I am keeping him so close. If he is the traitor we have been looking for, I do not wish to have to chase him down when I want him."

Snape frowned, thinking hard. "You've known that Sirius didn't do any of the things that the Daily Prophet says he did, but you haven't said anything. Why?"

"Sirius is a wild card. When Voldemort returns, I cannot allow Harry to be swayed by a man I cannot predict. Harry will be far too important, both as a symbol of resistance, and to the war that will follow to be raised by Sirius."

Snape snorted. "Who would give Sirius the right to raise Harry Potter?" He looked at Albus. "They didn't."

Professor Dumbledore nodded. "Both James and Lily Potter have Sirius Black as the first choice to raise Harry if something happened to them. If Sirius is suspected of being a Dark Lord, I can stop that, but if he is a good citizen, he will get Harry. As his Godfather, he is the closest thing Harry had to family."

Severus Snape frowned. "Hogwash. The Potters are one of the oldest families around. They must be related to almost everyone by now."

Dumbledore nodded. "True, but the closest three families, the ones that might get Harry over the wills of his parents are the families of Greengrass, Montrose and Prince."

Snape jerked. "What?! That's impossible."

Albus shook his head. "The link is old, four generations ago, but a Potter married a Prince, and they had a child, three of them in fact, and one of them is a direct ancestor of James Potter."

Albus watched Snape with a slight smile. "I thought about having you raise Harry," Albus was privately amused by the look of sheer horror that crossed Severus' face, but continued without cracking a smile. "The problem with that is that anyone that contests the wills is going to have to prove they are not Death Eaters, and that will include an inspection of your arms."

Snape reflexively rubbed his left forearm. "That would not be a good thing for me. These days, I doubt even you could convince the Wizengamot to ignore the Dark Mark, no matter what you say I was doing for you."

Professor Dumbledore nodded. "I agree. The risks are too great. However, I cannot allow a family of the Windenmere group to raise him either and the Montrose family is a single man, well over one hundred, who is in ill health. He is clearly not suitable to raise a small child."

Snape nodded. "Clearly. What will you do?"

"When Harry is found, and retrieved from Sirius, I will place him with a family that I can trust completely. The Weasleys, perhaps, or the Diggorys." Professor Dumbledore sighed. "I would prefer to place him with one of the Potter relatives, just for the protection it would afford him, but I cannot trust any of them save you, and you cannot ask for him."

Snape frowned at the Headmaster. "What protections are you talking about?"

Professor Dumbledore waved his hand and a book lifted off of a stand and dropped in Severus' lap. Snape looked at the open book and began reading. When he was done he looked up. "I hate to say this, but if James managed to cast this spell, he was stronger than I thought."

Albus smiled briefly. "Love is a strong motivator, and James loved Harry more than anyone else." He caught Severus' look. "Even more than Lily, I think, or he would have protected Lily with this, and counted on her to protect Harry. After all, it would have worked on her as well as Harry, and she could have done something as soon as Voldemort was gone. Harry would never have been at risk."

Snape looked at the book again. "I don't understand this part, about the 'Bonds of Blood'."

Albus looked into the distance. "Simply put, if Harry is accepted into a household that has at least one relative of James Potter's, he will be rendered undetectable to anyone that ill feelings toward him. It is a type of Fidelius Charm."

Snape nodded. "So even when He returns, He will not be able to find Potter, if Potter is in a house with family."

Albus nodded and looked at his watch. "I have a few things to do. I will be back quite late." He rose and stepped into his Floo.

Snape listened out of habit, but couldn't make out the Headmaster's destination. He left, thinking about the things he'd learned tonight and how to use them to his best advantage.

He went to the Potions classroom and got the potions he'd mixed earlier. Placing them in a secure bag, he Flooed away.

Severus appeared in a rustic looking home. He looked first at his patient. Bellatrix Lestrange was burned over a great deal of her body and in nearly as bad a shape as Sirius had been.

When the motorcycle had exploded in her face, her emergency Portkey, set to Portkey her to this place, had taken her away, but not before she took the full force of the explosion.

Severus knelt and began feeding her potions. He really didn't think she'd live, but having Bellatrix under his power, and owing him a Life debt was worth a few wasted potions. He looked at the Lestrange brothers. "You had better stay in hiding for a very long time. The Wizengamot is not giving anyone with a Dark Mark a trial. They just drain everything you know and send you to Azkaban."

The Lestranges looked at each other and back at Snape. "You just fix Bella. We have a mission until our Lord returns."

Rudolph smiled, and it was nearly as insane as Bella's smiles. "Sirius Black is going to pay for hurting Bella. He's going to pay with kin, friends, pain and finally, his death."

_**OoOoOoO Peter Pettigrew, Hogwarts 06NOV81. OoOoOoO**_

Peter was doing what he did best. He was spying again. This time, he was spying on Albus Dumbledore and Snape as they talked. He shivered as he realized that Albus Dumbledore suspected him of being the traitor in the Order of the Phoenix.

After Dumbledore and Snape left, Pettigrew headed out of the castle. No one here knew about his Animagus shape, so it was easy to leave the grounds. He paused outside Hogsmeade and stopped to think.

Peter had learned three things of extreme interest tonight. First, Albus Dumbledore was confiding far more to Snape than Snape had told the Dark Lord. That was something he could hold against the Dark Lord's return. If Albus Dumbledore thought the Dark Lord would return, Peter would be ready, because it would happen.

The second thing he had learned was that Harry Potter might still be alive. He would have to find a way to keep track of Harry. The Dark Lord would want to know where Harry was when he returned, and the one that could tell him would be in the Inner Circle at least, maybe even the Lord's right hand man.

Last, he had learned that Dumbledore was up to something, something that involved the entire Wizard world. That was interesting. Peter would have to keep a close eye on that. Dumbledore was a far more dangerous person than Sirius, even though Sirius would kill far quicker. Professor Dumbledore had far more power than Sirius, and he could be as sneaky as a Slytherin if this night's chat was any indication.

Peter Apparated away. He had a lot to do.

_**OoOoOoO Voldemort, Somewhere in Albania, 06NOV81. OoOoOoO**_

Pain. Fear. Weakness. Anger.

This had been Voldemort's world since he cast the Killing Curse at Harry Potter. Only now was he regaining the ability to think. He had been reacting to the stimulus of the rebounding Curse ever since the event, and he was very close to being dead. If it wasn't for the protections that he had taken against dying, he would be dead.

Grin amusement followed that thought. He would be a bigger legend when he returned. Nobody had ever survived a Killing Curse, but he had done it.

He cast about and found a field mouse. He moved his spirit over and absorbed the mouse's life.

He sighed mentally at the minuscule amount of power it gave him. It was going to be a long road back to a body.

Voldemort went hunting something he could kill.

_**OoOoOoO Lemos Veritaseek, The first meeting, 07NOV81. OoOoOoO**_

Lemos watched Mad-Eye Moody carefully. The old Auror was stumping around on his foot and that thing he insisted on wearing, even though there were better replacements. Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt was watching him calmly.

"Moody, either you're coming with us or you're not. It's not like there is another choice."

Moody glared at Shacklebolt. "You're very willing to take a Portkey to an unknown destination, with an unknown number of people waiting for us, who might have something in mind besides our help." He muttered to himself for a minute. "This smells bad."

Kingsley shrugged. "I don't think so. They asked for you and I specifically as well as the two most honest men in the Ministry and a reporter. This sounds more like something that they want witnesses for, people that other people trust."

Moody frowned and eyed the length of rope that was the Portkey. "Let's do this, if we're going to do it." He glared at Kingsley again. "If it does turn out to be a trap, I'll never let you forget it. I'm missing enough bits as it is."

The three men grabbed the rope and Kingsley touched it with his wand.

They reappeared in a room with five other people standing around. Kingsley recognized Arthur Weasley and Amos Diggory right away and turned his attention to the other three. He froze, looking at the impossible.

"Before you start hexing me, Alastair, you should know that the rumours of our deaths are a bit premature." Frank grinned at Moody. "And I can tell you what we used to stop the bleeding when you lost your eye."

Augusta looked at them. "I don't know what that means, but I am sure that Mr. Weasley recognizes me. We've been neighbours for nearly twenty years, since they bought the old Madison place."

Alice added her bit. "You should know me, Kingsley. You were my trainer after I left the school. I took down my first Death Eater with you."

Lemos Veritaseek just stared. "But the Black Lord killed you."

Frank smirked. "No, she didn't. Sirius Black lured Bellatrix Lestrange away and did something to her before the manor was fully on fire and we activated an escape plan that's been in place since You-Know-Who started his rise to power."

Lemos was digging for his parchment and quill. "Tell me everything."

Alice smiled. "It all started the night the Potters died. Sirius Black came to us."

Forty minutes later, the Longbottoms had told the five witnesses everything they knew. Moody was frowning heavily. "Albus is playing a deep game this time. I don't understand what he expects to get out of this."

A wail came from the other room and Alice looked up. "I'll get him." She went to a section of the wall and touched it with her wand. The wall faded away and revealed a door.

Frank turned to Moody. "You know him best, what do you think he's got planned for this scene?"

Moody shook his head slowly. "I really don't know. Albus always has some sort of plan, but what he's doing this time escapes me."

Lemos frowned. "Why would Professor Dumbledore be working with Pettigrew? If he has gone dark, and the Professor knows that, what does he gain by slandering Sirius?"

The others looked at each other. Professor Dumbledore was not acting as they expected. He'd allowed people's own actions to cause them trouble or pain before, but this time, he was fanning the fires of hate for Sirius.

"I think it has something to do with Harry." The men looked at Alice, who was holding the two boys. Neville's cries had woken Harry, and Alice had simply gotten both of them. She passed Neville to Frank and looked at Lemos. "Allow me to introduce you to Harry Potter."

Lemos looked at the small sleepy eyed boy. He saw the almost completely healed wound, rapidly becoming a scar, made larger than it really was by the small boy it was on. "Is that where the Avada Kedavra struck him?"

"We think so," Frank said, "Although no one can really tell, since the only people there were Harry and Voldemort. Harry's too young to talk about it and Voldemort's gone."

Arthur Weasley and Amos Diggory were watching and listening. "What are you going to do now?"

Frank sighed. "With Bellatrix still unaccounted for, we're going into hiding after we leave here. Sirius will know where to find us when he comes back from where ever he is. I think he was hurt by the explosion and is recovering. Nothing less would have kept him from Harry this long."

Frank looked at the people they had sent for. "We need you to get this story out. Sirius is being accused of things he did not do, and he has a family to protect."

Alice blinked, tilting her head in thought as she looked at Harry. "Frank, who gets Harry, if Sirius can't watch him for whatever reason?"

Frank shrugged. "The Potters were related to a good many families. I assume the Wizengamot would choose one of them and place Harry with them."

Alice nodded. "And Albus controls the Wizengamot."

They adults looked at each other. "But that would mean that Albus has plans for Harry, long term plans."

Moody nodded. "Possible. Albus has always taken the long view on things."

Lemos was looking from one to another. "If I can't prove any of this, I am going to have to go with the base story."

Frank nodded. "Right now, just clearing Sirius of our murders and showing the public that he is not a Dark Lord will be enough. Alice and I will do some checking. If Albus is doing something sneaky, it will have to be proven beyond any possible doubt."

Lemos frowned. "Even that may not be enough. Professor Dumbledore is very popular and many people wouldn't believe he could do anything that didn't have a very good reason behind it."

Arthur Weasley frowned. "I trust Albus, but even I cannot find a good reason for sending Sirius to his death or to Azkaban. I think we had better hold our suspicions close, until we can operate from a stronger position."

Moody sighed. "I refuse to believe that Albus has become Dark, but is it possible he's gotten senile? He is older than most, and he's always been a bit mad. Could he have slipped over the line?"

"That's one of the things we'll have to look into." Frank sighed. "If you send an owl to my mother, it will find us fairly quickly, in case you need more information," he told Lemos. "If we find anything out, we'll drop an owl to each of you. If you get an owl, make sure the other got one as well. I would hate to find that our owls are being diverted."

The group discussed their options for a bit longer and then Lemos had to leave to meet with the second group that wanted to talk to him about Sirius and Harry. He got Moody to come with him, as Shacklebolt had to work.

The group left after Frank took down the anti-Apparation wards he'd put up.

Lemos and Moody went to the next meeting.

Frank and Alice took the boys to their hiding place.

Shacklebolt went to work.

Augusta Longbottom went to Diagon Alley to find some people to start the rebuilding of Longbottom Manor.

Where ever they went, they were all thinking about the same thing. What was the most famous Wizard alive up to?

_**OoOoOoO Remus and Sirius, Madame Morgana's Home 07NOV81. OoOoOoO**_

Remus looked up from his studies as Sirius groaned. He'd heard Sirius groan a few times before and he thought this was another of the groans that meant the pain potions were wearing off.

"Where's James?" Sirius' eyes weren't focusing right, but he didn't need to see perfectly to recognize Remus. He was disorientated as well, and thought he was in the Infirmary at Hogwarts. Before he could remember anything, he went back to sleep.

Remus had grinned when Sirius spoke and then sighed as he lapsed back into unconsciousness. He'd just have to wait some more. That didn't matter though, because Sirius waking up was the first positive sign he'd had in three days.

Remus went back to studying with a relived smile. Sirius would get better, and they'd straighten all of this out.

_**OoOoOoO Lemos Veritaseek, Somewhere in Diagon Alley, 07NOV81. OoOoOoO**_

Lemos looked at the man that had been alone in the room the Portkey had brought him and Moody to. He was an unremarkable Wizard, the kind of man you would see and not remember. "You wanted to talk to me about something?"

The man nodded and handed over a parchment. Lemos read James Potter's letter to the Kinship Society and looked up at the man. "What is the Kinship Society?"

The man frowned. "We are a group of people that share certain common interests. Despite the name, we are not all related, except in our common goals. James Potter was a member of our group. I cannot say more without breaking some fairly serious oaths."

Lemos nodded. That was standard for many societies, especially secret ones. "Why is the very bottom of the parchment missing?"

"James Potter had certain codes, that belonged to the Potters, and that he used to validate mail to us. I removed those codes from the bottom of the letter. I know that the Daily Prophet can use magic to prove that letter came from James Potter. We wish you to do so and then print the letter in its entirety."

Lemos had already figured that part out. "And then what? What is a Vengeance Hex?"

The man looked at Lemos. "If we ever get our hands on Mr. Pettigrew, you will find out. As for what happens after that, that depends on what the response to that letter is. We will be watching over Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Should they be left in peace to raise Harry Potter as James requested, we will do nothing."

The man looked at Moody and then back at Lemos and his face changed. He became cold, and Lemos felt a chill go down his spine. This man was not to be trifled with. "Should it become necessary, we will take whatever steps are required to fulfil the last request of our brother, no matter who the enemy is." The man voice was calm, but implacable, as if he would consider doing anything required to complete his goals.

Lemos took a deep breath, aware of Moody watching the man closely. Mad-Eye spoke for the first time. "You're an Unspeakable, aren't you? That's why my eye can't see you."

Lemos blinked. Everyone knew that Mad-Eye's magical eye had a great many charms on it, and that he could pierce most illusions and spells with it. This gentleman must have some powerful magic if Moody's eye couldn't even see him.

The man shrugged. "Even if I was, you know I cannot confirm that, Mr. Moody."

Moody snorted. "Which in itself is a type of confirmation. If you weren't, you could say so."

The man shrugged again. "Possibly. I could simply be playing it safe and not letting you know what I am to increase the mystery surrounding me."

He took out an old pocket watch with a black cover and looked at it. "I have another appointment in a short time. If you have any more questions, Mr. Veritaseek, ask them now."

Lemos smiled thinly. "I have a lot of questions, but somehow I doubt you would answer most of them. Will I be hearing from you again?"

"That depends. If Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin and Mr. Potter are left alone, you will not. If they are not, then we will be in contact again. When, and where, I cannot say yet, until we know what we have to do."

Lemos nodded. "Will you be the only one I meet from your group?"

The man nodded. "Yes."

Lemos smiled thinly again. "Considering the ramifications of who is likely to be interfering in Mr. Potter's life, you'll excuse me if I say I hope I don't see you any more."

The man cocked his head and looked at Lemos. "I agree. The enemy is likely to be a dangerous opponent." He pulled a piece of string from his pocket and nodded. "Good day, gentlemen." He disappeared, leaving Lemos and Moody staring at each other.

"I've seen that watch before," Moody said calmly. "I don't remember where or who had it, but black pocket watches are not that common. I will remember it sooner or later."

Lemos added that to the mental file he was building on the Kinship Society and looked at Moody. "Do you want to go to the last meeting? I think it may be fascinating to see who else wants to discuss Mr. Potter and Mr. Black."

Moody grinned sourly. "Why not? I've already taken two unknown Portkeys this morning, I might as well do it one more time."

Lemos shook his head. "No Portkey this time. I was told to go to the Leaky Cauldron. I will be contacted there."

Moody nodded. "I will follow you. Don't be worried if you don't see me."

Lemos nodded and Disapparated away, followed a few seconds later by Moody. Shortly after they left, the quiet man slowly became visible in the corner of the room. He smiled to himself. Everyone assumed you went somewhere else when you held something and disappeared, and he'd found that assumption to be very useful for spying on people.

So Lemos was being used by at least three groups interested in Mr. Potter. That would bear watching, although reading the Daily Prophet over the next couple of days would most likely tell a person who those groups were. They could be allies he thought to himself. _"Or enemies. Either way, it would be a good idea to find them and learn all there is to know about them." _

He pulled out his watch and frowned at it. Moody might actually remember where and when he'd seen the watch before. The quiet man made a mental note to replace the cover. Sentiment had no place in a spy's life. It would only get him found or killed.

The man Disapparated with a muted crack, and this time, he actually was gone.

_**OoOoOoO Lemos Veritaseek, The Leaky Cauldron, 07NOV81. OoOoOoO**_

Lemos had not been in the Leaky Cauldron five minutes when a hooded and cloaked Witch sat down next to him. He started to say something, but she shook her head. "I am going to Side Along Apparate you, Mr. Lemos Veritaseek. My employer wishes to meet with you."

"Forgive me if I'm a little hesitant about being dragged off to nowhere, to meet no one," Lemos said calmly.

"I swear that you will come to no harm at this meeting, unless you start the fight." Lemos watched the flare of the oath with interest. "Now, my employer is a busy woman, and not one who likes to be kept waiting. Shall we go?"

Lemos sighed. In for Knut, in for a Galleon. "Yes."

The woman reached other and grabbed his arm. Lemos was vaguely surprised at her strength, but they were gone before he could do anything.

Moody stared at the area where the reporter had been and swore to himself. Without any idea of where they were going, he couldn't follow them.

That man had all the proof that Harry Potter still lived and that Sirius Black was not Dark. He had better be back. Moody settled in and ordered a beer, that would remain untouched while he waited.

_**OoOoOoO Lemos Veritaseek, Madame Morgana's house, 07NOV81. OoOoOoO**_

Lemos shook his head. Two Side Along Apparations and three Portkeys. They could be anywhere in the world by now. He had lost Moody as well as anyone else that might have been following them. He looked around the room he was in. It was a library and he looked at the nearest bookshelf.

He stopped looking at the first title. 'Seven Uses for Human Blood' was not a book you found in any Light Wizard's library.

"Where are we?" he asked, far more calmly than he felt. If it hadn't been for the oath the Witch had sworn, he would be taking his chances trying to Apparate out of here.

The Witch took her cloak off, and her voice changed, becoming beautiful, if it was not for the undertones of bitterness. "Welcome to Madame Morgana's home. I trust I do not need to tell you to be respectful?"

Lemos blinked. He was aware of his skin crawling. Madame Morgana's reputation preceded her. No, he didn't need to be told to be respectful. He looked at his guide and only years of experience keeping a blank face while talking to people kept the shock and pity off of his face.

The scar that ran across the young woman's face was reason enough for the bitterness in her voice.

"Don't frighten him. We did invite him here, and he is a guest.." Lemos turned, looking at the woman that had just entered the library.

Madame Morgana was a tall lithe woman with dark eyes and red hair. She moved gracefully, sitting in a chair and observing Lemos much as he was looking at her. "I have brought you here to meet two people and listen to one of them talk. When you have heard what he has to say and met the other, I will expect that you will know what you are to do."

Lemos blinked. "Who am I meeting?"

"Remus Lupin and Sirius Black."

Lemos jerked. His fledgling belief in the two of them went away. If this was where they had been, they were not entirely light.

Madame Morgana sighed. "Snap judgements? I expected better of you. Still, it should be obvious that you make them. Your stories had Sirius Black convicted before you knew even half the story." Her contempt was plain.

Lemos frowned. She was, he admitted to himself, right. "Perhaps you can explain why they are here?"

Madame Morgana sighed. "You know that Remus Lupin is a werewolf. He was bitten when he was very young and his family brought him to me, hoping I could end his Curse. I could not, but I did shelter the youngster during his early changes. Remus Lupin brought Sirius Black to me when he needed a Healer that the Death Eaters couldn't find or intimidate."

"How bad is Sirius Black hurt?" This was the first Lemos had heard of this, although Frank thought he was hurt, simply because he hadn't come to see Harry.

Madame Morgana thought for a minute. "Sirius Black sustained many injuries, but Remus Lupin had healed many of them before he came here, so I cannot say how badly he was hurt. When he came into my hands, he had twenty four broken bones, internal bleeding in several organs, burns over most of his body and a few other minor problems."

Lemos shivered. "Do you know how he got injured?" He was hoping that she could confirm the Longbottom's assertion that Sirius had been with them when Bellatrix Lestrange attacked the estate.

"Mr. Sirius Black has not yet regained consciousness, so I am unable to answer that."

Lemos frowned. Sirius must have been nearly dead to still be unconscious. That made the Longbottom's story more likely, but was not proof. Madame Morgana looked at Maire. "Would you get Remus Lupin for me, please? He'll."

"Be in Mr. Sirius Black's room. Of course." Lemos noted the affection in the scarred woman's voice. She wasn't nearly as bitter with Madame Morgana as she had been with him. She left, and Lemos was left alone with Madame Morgana.

She looked at him. "I would ask that you not tell anyone where Remus Lupin and Mr. Sirius Black are, or who healed him. Remus Lupin has enough problems without people believing he consorts with the Devil's Daughter."

Lemos nodded. "If his story bears out a few things I have learned today, you need not worry about that." He looked at her again. "Is there any chance I could talk to Sirius Black?"

Madame Morgana shrugged. "Remus Lupin said he woke for a few seconds earlier, but I cannot use another potion on him. He will wake when he wakes."

Lemos looked at the woman that had been a legend in the Wizard world for centuries. "Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" Getting even a short interview with her would be worth a great deal, if he could write it up without interfering with his current assignment.

She looked amused. "Brave, aren't you? What are you willing to pay for that privilege?"

Lemos looked at the book he had first seen and tapped it gently. "I'm sure I have something you could use, as long as it does me no harm."

Madame Morgana smiled. "I'm sure you do, considering how hard it is to find people that will willingly give up bits of themselves for the things I do. We shall discuss this more later."

Maire and Remus Lupin came in then and Remus looked at the stranger first. He snarled. "You." Contempt laced his voice. He looked at Madame Morgana. "What is this person doing here, and why would I want to meet with the man that is trying to get Sirius and I killed?"

"Remus Lupin, regardless of your feelings toward him, he is a guest in my house." Madame Morgana's voice had cooled considerably.

Remus stared at her. He nodded slowly. "You are correct, Madame Morgana. I apologize for my tone and words." He raised an eyebrow. "My question, however, remains the same."

"It was Maire's idea, actually. We want you alive, but this man is the driving force behind a campaign that would have you running forever. We thought we'd reason with him."

Maire smirked. "And if that doesn't work, I get to practice on him after he goes home."

Lemos swallowed nervously. "Practice what?"

Maire smiled, a slow spreading smile that chilled Lemos' blood. "I'm Madame Morgana's apprentice."

Lemos swallowed hard and hoped they didn't see the shiver that passed over him. "I am usually a reasonable man, and recently I have seen a few things that already have me rewriting the story."

Remus looked up, startled. "What have you seen?"

Lemos smiled wryly. "It's more of a who, actually. I spoke with the Longbottoms this morning, and met Harry Potter." He watched Remus closely, wondering what he would see.

Lemos was surprised by Remus' reaction. The werewolf tensed, joy warring with hope and fear. "You saw Harry? How was he? Is he OK? Did he look hurt?"

Lemos held up his hands to stop the stream of questions. "Harry looked fine, and the Longbottoms were taking good care of him."

"Where are they? How do I find them?" Remus looked as if he was going to jump up and go after Harry that instant.

"I don't know where they are, but they said a letter addressed to Augusta Longbottom would find them." Lemos frowned, trying to remember the exact wording Frank had used. "Mr. Longbottom said that Sirius would know where to find them, if he thought about it."

Remus looked frustrated. "So I still have to wait on Sirius waking up."

Madame Morgana smiled at Remus. "So eager to leave my home, Remus Lupin?"

Remus looked at her. "If it means Harry is safely back with Sirius and I, yes."

Madame Morgana nodded. "I understand your feelings, Remus Lupin, but you can not leave yet. Until your name has been cleared, the Aurors are hunting you with the right to kill you when they find you."

Remus snarled, and the amber tint of his wolf was in his eyes. "They may find that significantly harder than they think it will be."

Maire was watching him. Remus stared at her with the unblinking eyes of a wolf. "Yes?" he asked, daring her to say anything.

Maire shook her head. "Harry Potter is important to you, and to your wolf. I have never seen a werewolf that can control his beast the way you do. It is interesting."

Remus blinked, forcing the wolf down. "I am not an experiment of yours."

Maire shook her head. "I am not like Madame Morgana, who wants to know everything. I do not see you as an experiment, Remus Lupin. Merely an interesting man."

"All of this aside, would you tell me what you know of the events of October 31st?" Lemos was looking at Remus.

Remus thought back. "It all started because the wolf in me was nervous." Remus told him about figuring out the Fidelius Charm was down, and how Apparation didn't work. He told them quietly about finding Lily and James. Remus went on to tell them everything that had happened since then, leaving out only his thoughts about biting Sirius to save him.

When he was done, Lemos asked a couple of questions to clarify a few points and then looked at his notes. "Headmaster Dumbledore is playing a deep game here. He's very close to sliding over the edge into Darkness."

Remus frowned. "I know, and I don't understand any of it."

Maire frowned. "Dumbledore has been around a long time. Is this new, since Voldemort came out, or does it go back further than that?"

The group thought about it for a while. "I don't know," said Lemos quietly, "but I know how to find out." He looked at Remus. "Mr. Lupin, I hope you will forgive me. I have slandered you, printed libellous statements and inflamed the hate against you and Sirius."

His expression turned cold. "Those people that have used me for this are going to regret it. I promise you that I will be as vocal for you as I was against you."

He stood up and looked at Madame Morgana. "I hope to be issued another invitation to visit for that interview. Until then, I have a retraction to print and a number of questions to ask and get answers for." He bowed to Madame Morgana. "If I could be returned to the Leaky Cauldron?"

Madame Morgana nodded at Maire. "She will take you back. I am glad you were reasonable about this. I will be in touch about that interview." Both of them ignored Maire's muttered comments about how it was a pity he was reasonable. She really needed the practice.

After the reporter and the apprentice were gone Madame Morgana looked at Remus. "You have stirred up some deep water, Remus Lupin. I hope you swim well."

Remus sighed. "We'll find out soon enough."

All of them awaited the morning paper, but there was nothing in the paper.

Three days that went on, until the morning of the eleventh of November.

Remus collected the paper and opened it. The front page was nothing but headlines. Remus read them all and reread them. A sudden fear grew in his heart. "What have we done?"

Maire took the paper from him and began to read.

_**Harry Potter Lives!!**_

_**Albus Dumbledore Missing!!**_

_**Sirius Black Cleared of Wrongdoing!!**_

_**Pettigrew Kills the Potters, Protected by Dumbledore!!**_

_**Minister Baghold Accepting Bribes!!**_

_**Wizengamot in Emergency Session!!**_

The three of them looked at each other as Maire finished reading the headlines aloud. "Well, you've set a werewolf loose in the hen house. What have you been doing?"

Remus spun, looking at the new voice.

Sirius Black was leaning on the door frame, looking at them with that lopsided grin of his.

That lasted barely three seconds. Remus didn't even have time to move before Sirius' eyes rolled back in his head and he crumpled to the floor.

_**OoOoOoO The Author, Here and Now. OoOoOoO**_

_The stage is set, and the next chapter will take us right up to Harry's Hogwarts letter. Everyone will be in the next chapter, and we're going to hit the highlights of the next eleven years for all the people we've met so far. After that, the story is going to pick up quickly._

_Without Professor Dumbledore in place to make Voldemort take precautions, the war will be on our heroes sooner than it was in JKR's world. However, Voldemort will not be the most pressing thing on Harry's mind._

_Wondering Why? Good. (Insert Evil Author Smile and insane cackle here.) You might find out in the next chapter, provided you come back to read it._

_Revised Notes: Sheesh. I still don't understand how I made this many mistakes in this chapter. I have corrected them all, (I think) as well as changing a few things that didn't fit with the rest of the story._

_Raven_


	5. Deceit, Deception and Darkness

_The stage is set, and now we find out what's going on. Sit down, as we cover more than twelve hundred years of Deceit, Deception and Darkness. Buckle your seatbelts and hold on tight... because Wizard history as you know it is about to take a sharp left turn. For those of you that read Arthurian legends, I apologize in advance for the liberties I will be taking with them._

_This chapter also corrects one error I made. I had Fudge as the Minister of Magic, even through it should have been Millicent Baghold. I have corrected that in this chapter, and will correct the earlier chapter at some time in the future._

_Disclaimer: If I owned this, do you really think you'd be reading it on-line like this? No, I'd be the one having a release party on the 21st, only, I would have released the 7th book on 07-07-07, fourteen days earlier. All I'm getting out of this is a great deal of fun and a growing obsession with all the possibilities in changing history._

_**Harry Potter and the Bonds of Blood**_

_**Chapter Five**_

_**Deceit, Deception and Darkness.**_

_**OoOoOoO 12NOV1981, The Wizengamot Chambers. OoOoOoO**_

"Lemos Veritaseek, stand forth and face the Wizengamot."

Lemos stood, concealing his emotions behind a blank face. He'd been expecting this since he'd chosen to print the story he'd uncovered over the those few hectic days after his three meetings. He felt the heavy rolls of parchment hanging in his robes and hoped nobody did anything foolish before he had a chance to talk. He moved to the witness chair and sat. Since he was only here to be questioned, and was not accused of a crime, (yet) the chains remained off. "I am here, prepared to serve as best I can."

The Wizard standing before the Wizengamot looked at him. "Yesterday morning, you printed a good many things, Wizard Veritaseek. We would ask you to prove the things you have stated."

Lemos nodded slowly and took the rolls of parchment from his robes. "I will show you my proof as I obtained it. Several days ago, I received invitations to three meetings. Of two of those meetings, I cannot say much, but the first was with five people, and I have four witnesses that can attest to the truth of my statements."

He went on to detail the people that had been at the first meeting and what he had learned there. "Since then, Augusta Longbottom has been seen by several other people, as she makes the arraignments to restore the Longbottom Manor."

The Wizard nodded. "Can you prove that the baby you saw is Harry Potter?"

Lemos nodded. "Armed with the information that Frank Longbottom gave me, I went to the Aurors, and they retested the bodies found in the Manor. Using bits of the supposed bones, they found that the bodies were very clever fakes, and not real. The Longbottoms created the test to reveal the identity of a mangled body fifty years ago, and they knew that the standard test just took a bit of hair."

He held up a vial with a dozen hairs in it. "I watched Frank Longbottom take these hairs from the head of the baby that they claimed was Harry Potter. He told me that they'd shaved the heads of the people involved and used a drop of blood to created the fake bodies. By making sure that some hair was left on them, they knew that the Aurors would use the standard tests."

He handed the vial to an Auror standing nearby. "I have already tested those hairs, in the presence of four Aurors, as this sheet will show, and all of them agree that the hairs give the same result as the fake body from under the Manor."

He pulled four more vials from his robes. "These hairs are all marked as to who they supposedly belong to, and I watched each of the vials be filled. Aurors at the Ministry who know the Longbottoms confirm these hairs are from the Longbottoms, Frank, Alice and Neville." He held up one vial. "With Augusta Longbottom available, I didn't bother testing those hairs, but they are here if you wish to confirm what the Aurors have sworn to."

"As to the other information I received at that meeting, Frank Longbottom has revealed something I confirmed later. The Black family and the Longbottoms are related."

A buzz broke out until Lemos raised his hand. "Due to certain philosophical differences, the two families do not admit this, but they both knew it, and Sirius Black was friends with Frank and Alice Longbottom. This was confirmed by talking to people who were in Gryffindor House during the time they were there."

Lemos took a deep breath. "After Peter Pettigrew told You-Know-Who about the Potters, breaking the Fidelius Charm he was the Secret Keeper of, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin found Harry Potter in his crib and Sirius ran to Frank." Lemos went over everything Remus and Frank had told him about the night Voldemort and the Potters had died.

"So, when the Death Eaters managed to set the house on fire, Sirius Black led the most dangerous one away, so that the others could escape with Harry Potter. What happened then will not be known until Sirius Black recovers consciousness."

The buzz started again. "Wizard Veritaseek, are you saying that Sirius Black is still recovering from the injuries received thirteen days ago?"

"As of my last communication with Remus Lupin, Sirius Black was still unconscious. When the Healer treating him received him, he had twenty-four broken bones, severe bleeding internally and several other problems. According to her, that was after Remus Lupin had used eighteen potions and more than a dozen healing spells on Mr. Black."

The buzz grew louder. That was more healing magic than most people would have used in a lifetime, and it had been for a single set of injuries. "According to the Healer, Sirius Black is only alive because "He's either too stubborn to die, or too stupid to know he should be dead.""

Lemos quoted Madame Morgana with a small smile. "Getting back to that night, Frank Longbottom and his family swear that Sirius Black had been with them since the night the Potters died, and that he had come to them with Harry."

A Witch raised her hand. "I don't understand. Why did Albus Dumbledore say those things about Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, if he knew what was happening?"

Lemos Veritaseek stood up. "I swear that the statements I am about to make are true and complete to the best of my knowledge." The flash of a binding magical oath filled the chamber for a second and he sat down.

"I owled the Headmaster of Hogwarts, asking the very same questions. I received no answer, and I cannot find Albus Dumbledore now, nor can anyone else. I have found a few things out, however, by questioning other people known to be close to Dumbledore. He has been subtly guiding the Wizard world into something for several decades, and it went completely unnoticed by most."

He frowned, thinking about what he was going to say. "James Potter was a member of a society called the Kinship Society, and he sent them an owl as the Death Eaters broke the wards around his house." Lemos held up the copy of the note James had written. "This is a copy, as the Aurors have taken the original. They have tested it, and I have a sworn statement from the Auror who did so, that it is written by James Potter."

Lemos read the note aloud. He looked at the members of the Wizengamot. "Since then, I have been sent this." He held up a tightly bound scroll, and untied it. He snapped his wrist and several feet of parchment unrolled. "This information was collected by the Kinship Society and covers nearly forty years of bribes, deals and blackmail in the Ministry of Magic."

He looked at everyone there before dropping the next bombshell. "As far as I can determine at this time, every one of these incidents was caused by, or done by Albus Dumbledore."

The Wizengamot was completely silent for nearly ten seconds while they absorbed what he'd just said. Then a roar erupted, as every member of the Wizengamot shouted to be heard at once. It took nearly five minutes to restore order to the chamber and even as they turned to Lemos Veritaseek again, the Wizengamot kept up a low buzz.

"Wizard Veritaseek, please explain yourself further."

"I simply have not had time to investigate all the accusations and charges on this list. However, those few that I have been able to check out so far are accurate, and they all point to Albus Dumbledore. I questioned one of the people involved, and Amos Diggory, after being confronted with the evidence you are seeing now, admitted that he had been passing Ministry news and information to Albus Dumbledore for more than five years. He knew of three others that had done so as well, and he knew that Millicent Baghold has been in power for only one reason: Albus Dumbledore wants her there, because he has something on her that allows him to control everything she does."

All eyes turned to the Ministry of Magic, sitting in her Wizengamot seat. She rose heavily, as if it was an effort. "Albus Dumbledore knew me during the War, when I was a young Auror, and he was there when I cast an Unforgivable."

The silence was total as she continued quietly. "He assured me that it would remain our secret, as long as I helped him in his plans. So it has stood until Mr. Veritaseek came to me three days ago. I cannot find Albus, and I will assume he has fled. I have been right there with him as he manipulated the Wizard world since 1945, and I know too much that he could never explain away."

She coughed then, and stood straighter with an effort. "Albus Dumbledore has been planning to control the Wizard world from behind the scenes for longer than anyone could ever imagine. He does not know that I have this, but I stole a book from his home once. I was looking for something to use that would free me from him, but this would never have been believed by the Wizard world until his schemes came to light. I have held on to it for more than ten years, hoping to derail his plans."

She coughed again, hacking violently. When she stopped, she continued in a voice that made everyone quiet down to hear her. "Albus Dumbledore has a reputation as an Alchemist, who has worked with Nicholas Flamel, who made the Philosopher's Stone. What no one knew, not even I, until I read this book, is that Dumbledore had one also, and has had it for more than seven hundred years."

The silence was total as she looked up. "Albus Dumbledore was born Mordred le Fay, and is the son of Morgana le Fay and King Arthur."

She coughed again, and this time blood poured from her mouth, and she fell to floor of the chamber. For one startled instant, no one moved and then total chaos reigned.

It was nearly an hour later that the Wizengamot reconvened. The Wizard in charge stood up in the silence. "We have heard many things this day, and they must be confirmed before we announce anything. I am calling for the Silence, on pain of the Dementor's Kiss to anyone that breaks it. No part of today's proceeding may be spoken of until we have gotten to the truth of the matter. The only exception I will allow is Minister Baghold's death. For now, she died of a sudden heart attack, brought on by stress."

Another Wizengamot member asked, "What did she die of?"

Markus Inkee, the acting Head of the Wizengamot looked up. "In speaking of Dumbledore's plans, she broke at least one oath to him, and the broken oath is what killed her."

Lemos Veritaseek was already planning what he would write, as soon as he was allowed to write this story. He was as shocked as anyone, but after the things he'd been finding out about Dumbledore over the last week, he was having an easier time believing it than the Wizengamot was. They had taken all of his notes and evidence and even as they spoke, Unspeakables and Aurors were confirming every detail.

"Wizard Veritaseek, you have claimed some contact with Remus Lupin and Sirius Black."

He looked up. "I have spoken to Remus Lupin and seen an unconscious man that matches Sirius Black's description. Since Remus Lupin vouched for him, I have to assume it was him."

"Then the Wizengamot charges you to go to them and ask them to appear before this body, to present evidence in this matter."

Lemos frowned. "That may take a day or two. I have no direct knowledge of their hiding place."

"So be it. You are directed to appear before this body in four days time, with the two of them if Mr. Black is capable, or with Mr. Lupin if not. Remember the Silence, and keep it."

Lemos nodded, casting an envious look at the two members of the Wizengamot that were tasked with reading the book that Minister Baghold had been hiding under her robes when she died.

Lemos Veritaseek would have sold his first born child to be the first one reading that book.

_**OoOoOoO Sirius and Remus, Madame Morgana's Home. 12NOV1981. OoOoOoO**_

"You scared the stuffing out of me when you fell over like that," Remus said to Sirius.

Sirius looked up from the bed he was back in. "I had to see Harry, and you three couldn't hear me, apparently. It took me nearly ten minutes to get to the doorway as it was."

Remus frowned at him. "Maybe you'll remember this, the next time James and" Remus winced and corrected himself. "The next time I tell you that something is a bad idea."

Sirius looked at his left knee. "I think it will be hard to forget," he said, "seeing as I have a constant reminder that hitting a house at fifty kilometres an hour is a bad thing."

"You are very lucky that you have a life to remember at all, Mr. Sirius Black."

Both men looked at Madame Morgana, standing in the doorway of Sirius's room. "May I ask you a question, Madame Morgana?" She tilted her head, inviting Sirius to ask. "Why do you always address people by their full name?"

She smiled. "That question, Mr. Sirius Black, is one that Remus Lupin has been asking since he was twelve. Remus Lupin, what have I told you?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "You had to ask that, didn't you? I've been trying to ignore it this time. 'Remus Lupin,'" and Remus managed a passable imitation of Madame Morgana's voice, "'some things are just going to remain mysteries.' I've only heard that about thirty times, no matter how I word the question."

Sirius frowned, and then shrugged. "I suppose it would be terribly bad manners of me to pry then, after what you have done for me."

"I have done nothing for you, Mr. Sirius Black. I have a deal with Remus Lupin. He is the only person that owes me anything."

Sirius studied the woman for a minute. "I don't suppose I could pay his debt, could I?" At her head shake, Sirius frowned again. "You will forgive me if I worry about what his price will be. My mother nearly worships you, and that is not the best recommendation in the world for me."

Madame Morgana smiled. "It is strange that you would bring her up, Mr. Sirius Black." She held out a letter. "It seems that she is very annoyed at you for helping destroy Voldemort, and she has gone so far as to ask me to make a curse just for you."

Sirius read over the letter quickly. "Dear old mum," he said sarcastically. "Such a loving woman, if your heart is four shades darker than midnight." He looked at Madame Morgana. "So, will I get an interesting curse at least? One that turns me into a demented picture, maybe?"

Madame Morgana opened her mouth to say something and paused, her eyes narrowing in thought. "That is an interesting idea. A Wizard painting, but with the whole person trapped inside. What an excellent idea."

Sirius sighed as he watched her. "Great, I've chosen my own doom."

Madame Morgana shook her head. "No, Mr. Sirius Black, you have not. I will not be accepting this commission. I have spent too much time healing you to destroy you now, plus Remus Lupin would be much less cooperative if I did anything to you."

Sirius looked at Remus. "Have I told you how much I love you recently?" he said with a smile.

Remus just sighed. "Get a girl, Sirius."

Sirius sat up with an effort. "I would love to, but there are only two women here, and with all due respect to you, Madame Morgana, you intimidate me. Maire, on the other hand, just outright scares me."

Madame Morgana sighed. "She should, Mr. Sirius Black. It was your father that scarred her like that."

Sirius blinked and looked around at the potions on the bed stand nervously. "She's not brewing anything I drink, is she?"

Madame Morgana smiled. "About half of it, actually."

Remus and Sirius looked at each other in concern. Maire was not a nice person, and the thought of her brewing things that Sirius had to drink was not a good one. Madame Morgana watched them fret and plot ways to avoid drinking anything she had made for a few minutes.

When it got to the point that Remus and Sirius were planning on using Polyjuice potions to change into each other, so that Remus could pretend to be Sirius and drink the things she gave him, Madame Morgana cleared her throat. "As much fun as this is to listen to, I have to admit, I was only trying to wind you up."

Sirius looked at her and went limp with relief. "Oh, thank Merlin."

Remus frowned at her. "I should have remembered that your sense of humour always was extreme."

"Madame Morgana doesn't have a sense of humour," came a new voice from the door. "She merely likes observing people in extreme states of panic." Maire stepped into the room, glancing at Sirius and then watching Remus as she handed a letter to Madame Morgana. "That reporter has sent you something."

Madame Morgana opened it and read it as Remus watched Maire watching him. She'd been doing that a great deal over the last couple of days, and it was beginning to make Remus nervous.

"Well, something has happened of great interest to us all." Everyone looked at Madame Morgana. "He cannot give details, but Remus Lupin and Mr. Sirius Black have been summoned before the Wizengamot to give evidence in the events of the last two weeks."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other. "Does he say if we can appear in public without being charged with something or being killed?"

Madame Morgana looked at the letter again. "While everything is not clear yet," she quoted, "at this time there are no charges against Sirius or Remus, and all the Aurors have been told to stop the hunt. I would still be cautious, as the general population may not have gotten the word about your innocence yet."

Sirius and Remus frowned. "Tricky," said Sirius.

Remus smiled then. "But not impossible,"

"and it will be fun," they chorused.

The two women just stared at them and shook their heads. These two were crazy.

_**OoOoOoO The Longbottoms, In hiding. 12NOV1981. OoOoOoO**_

Frank pulled his wand as a knock came at the door. No one knew where they were, except his mother, and she would have used the proper procedure for approaching. Alice picked up the boys as Frank approached the door. Alice was preparing to Apparate away as Frank levelled his wand at the door.

"You hex me, Frank, and I won't give Alice back her thing," came a familiar voice from the other side of the door.

The Longbottoms relaxed and Frank opened the door. "Hello, Moody. How are you?"

Moody stumped inside, looking around. "Nice hideout, Frank. It took me nearly a week to find it."

Frank looked at him. "How did you find it, anyway?"

Moody grinned. "I knew you would be close enough to keep track of what was going on, and Longbottom Estate is the last place anyone will be looking for you. Then, it was simple. A couple of mapping flights over the estate showed me the section that couldn't be found. It wasn't a Fidelius Charm, or I would have never noticed it, so I simply had to find the key to the illusion you were using to hide the cottage."

He turned serious. "I have been asked to bring you and both of the boys before the Wizengamot to speak of your knowledge of the events of the last two weeks." He held up a hand as they both started to ask questions. "I can't say any more than that, the whole thing is covered by a Silence right now."

He looked at them as they communicated in the silent manner of married couples. "I can say that Sirius and Remus will be there, according to the reporter."

Frank and Alice turned to Moody. "Then we will be there for Sirius. It's time he saw Harry again anyway."

_**OoOoOoO Everyone, The Wizengamot chambers, 16NOV1981 OoOoOoO**_

The chamber looked much as it had the day Lemos had watched the Minister collapse and die after revealing Albus Dumbledore's secret. He corrected himself with a grimace. Mordred le Fay's secret. Lemos Veritaseek had gotten to read the book just yesterday, and he was still stunned at the secrets it had revealed.

He looked up as two men he didn't know sat down in the seats next to him. "Pardon me, gentlemen," he said politely, only to be interrupted.

"You've been saving these seats for us," said the one closest to him, looking at him with eyes the startling amber of a wolf, before he pushed the wolf down.

Lemos blinked and frowned. "I thought illusions wouldn't work her, and you had to be in your real shape to get in here, not Poly juiced, so how are you doing this?"

The man on the other side of Remus grinned. "Magic."

Lemos looked disgusted. "That joke was dead and buried before Merlin was born. Stop trying to resurrect it," he said, staring at Sirius. "Would you care to be a bit more specific?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest," Sirius said. "Remus's friend did something to make it appear to spells and wards that these are our real forms, until we speak our full names. Then we revert back to what we should look like."

Remus nodded. "Speaking of that, I think we should do that now, before the Wizengamot figures out that we can do magic here. This may be useful some other time."

The two men muttered their own names and Lemos watched as the pair changed into themselves in an instant. He didn't actually see them change, it was as if they were the disguises and then they weren't. He looked at Sirius and and flinched.

Sirius had a thing of some sort covering his left knee and a cane with him. He was pale and even as Lemos watched he pulled out a potion and drank it. He saw Lemos watching and shrugged. "There's some minor pain left, and my knee isn't quite ready to bear weight properly, so Remus' girlfriend made this to support it."

Remus snarled at Sirius. "She's not my girlfriend." He seemed on the verge of hitting Sirius, until he looked at the cane and knee brace again. "When you're healthy again, I'm going to put you back in my friend's care personally."

Sirius was smiling. "You'll admit to being friends with the older lady, but not friends with the younger one?"

Remus narrowed his eyes, staring at Sirius. "You leave Maire alone, Sirius, or your puppy is going to be bald forever."

Sirius blinked, scratching his head as he observed Remus. He smiled suddenly as a light went off in his head. "Sorry, Remus. I am just a bit happy to be able to go see Harry again."

Lemos Veritaseek had figured that out already. Both men were relieving stress bickering with each other, but that was not all that was going on here. Remus' body language changed when he spoke of Maire. Lemos thought about it, but didn't have enough evidence to come to a conclusion this time.

The chamber continued to fill with the wizards of the Wizengamot and the people that had been requested to be here today. Lemos smirked as he saw the reporters of every paper in the wizard world standing outside the Chamber.

Only one reporter had the full story of what had happened, and he would have at least a two hour head start on the rest of them. He'd written his story last night, and it was in the hands of the Editor now, just waiting on the Wizengamot finishing the session today.

Lemos was here in case somebody he hadn't seen recently had something new to offer. Lemos looked around and stopped on one knot of people approaching. He continued to observe them out of the corner of his eye.

Frank and Alice saw Sirius and Frank whispered to Alice. She smiled and they came up behind Sirius, talking to Remus. Alice set Harry down, after showing the boy Sirius, and Harry toddled determinedly toward him.

Sirius was talking to Remus when a familiar and sorely missed tug came at his robes. His head whipped around and he saw Harry standing there, tugging on his robes and then holding his hands up to be picked up. Sirius reacted from habit even as his eyes filled with tears and the fear that had been in his heart since he woke up eased. He picked up the small boy and hugged him fiercely.

The rest of them watched with gentle smiles as Sirius held Harry for a minute and then sat him on his lap so he could examine Harry for any damage.

"You'd think he doesn't trust us to keep Harry safe, wouldn't you?" Frank's question went unheard by his target as Sirius continued to check Harry.

Alice hit her husband in the shoulder. "Quit being an insensitive male." Frank looked at his wife and the soft smile she wore as she watched Sirius and Harry, and at his mother, dabbing at her eyes with a napkin, and wisely remained silent.

Sirius finished his exam and ran his hand over Harry's nearly bald head. "Your poor hair, Pronglet," he mourned, happy to have nothing more important to fuss about. "How are you going to get the girls with no hair?"

Harry looked at Sirius, tilting his head to one side as he looked at him, in a mannerism so like Lily that tears came to Sirius' and Remus' eyes again. "Pafoo?"

Sirius smiled as he heard Harry talk for the first time since the night his parents had died. He ruffled what was left of Harry's hair. "Padfoot just misses Harry's hair."

Harry stared at him, thinking hard, from the expression on his face. As the astounded adults watched, Harry's hair grew out, to the same length James and Lily had always kept it at. "Pafoo no sad." Harry said a minute later, and started searching Sirius' robes. "Pafoo cany?"

Sirius grinned as Harry found the stash of Chocolate Frogs in the inner pocket of his robes and took one. He watched Harry concentrating on opening the package with a smile.

Frank and Alice were looking at each other. "How?" she mouthed, and all Frank could do was shrug.

Moody was watching the scene calmly, although he'd been as surprised as any of them at what Harry had done. "There is a talent, that allows a person to change bits of themselves. I don't remember what it's called offhand, but I'm sure we can find out."

Sirius looked up. "Metamorphmagus," he supplied, "my cousin is one." He regarded Harry. "She can do a lot more than changing the length of her hair though."

Remus shushed them as he saw Markus Inkee come in and stand before the Wizengamot.

"Everyone is here, so we will start these proceedings." Wizard Inkee was abrupt and grim. "The Wizengamot has the task of deciding how much to tell people about the man we knew as Albus Dumbledore. Before we can decide that, we must all know who and what he was. I must insist that all of us remain silent until we have heard everything. Wizard Monroe, would you read the précis of the book, please."

Another Wizard stood up and began to read.

"My name is Mordred le Fay and I was born of an illicit union between King Arthur and Morgana le Fay in the year 781 AD. For centuries I have guided the Wizards to the place where I want them, divided, and biased against anything that is not a Pureblood Wizard. I had done so simply for amusement at first, not particularly caring what they thought or did.

I was deep in my research into dozens of things, and it was merely an amusement, to see how far one could warp the opinions of Wizards, if you had centuries to plan it. Apparently, there is no limit, as they have begun to view even the Centaurs with suspicion, and they are the most peaceful race alive. Causing them to view other races with hatred was easy. Any race that has power they are nervous about anyway, and a few rebellions here and there, a few incidents, and that nervousness slides into fear and distrust.

It wasn't until the Muggles had their 'Industrial Revolution' that I paid them any mind, but soon, I saw that they would outstrip the Wizards completely. Without magic, they must find other ways to do things, and they are endlessly inventive in it. I saw that, and tried to push the Wizards into creating more new things, but Wizards as a whole are far too conservative, and resist change. It will take centuries of work to change that, since I cannot tell them that the Muggles can destroy them in hours, if the Muggles ever find out about us.

In order to change them, I will have to guide them into the shape I want, shaping them as a potter does clay, and that means I must control a goodly part of the Wizard world.

In every era, there are a few shining lights, men and women who stand out and count for something. This era's wizard is a man named Albus Dumbledore. I have studied him, and he is a good man. Tomorrow, I will visit him while his brother is out and I will use mother's spell, the one that allows me to absorb everything a person knows.

I will kill Albus Dumbledore then, and use another spell, one Merlin taught mother to take his place. He is the leading light in the fight against Grindelwald, and I will have the acclaim that comes with destroying a Dark Wizard. That will be a good place to begin my slow rise to power."

The wizard looked up. "The rest of the book details Mordred's experiments in Dark Magic, magic and in making others do his bidding. It was written in 1940, and using the information in the book, the body of the real Albus Dumbledore was recovered yesterday. Mordred used Mr. Dumbledore's position to destroy Grindelwald and begin amassing power."

Wizard Inkee stood up. "Everyone here knows about the events of the last three weeks. You-Know-Who killed the Potters, but was himself destroyed by a spell James Potter cast on his child, that protects Harry Potter.

That is where Mordred's plan fell apart. He had intended, according to notes found in his quarters at Hogwarts, to control Harry Potter, to use him in his plans, and against Voldemort. Once Voldemort was dead, Mordred had planned to kill Harry Potter, and assume his place, after making the boy Albus Dumbledore's heir."

He looked around, his eyes falling on Sirius, still holding Harry. "That plan was disrupted when Sirius Black got to Harry Potter first, and took him to Frank and Alice Longbottom. Between the friendship of these three people and the efforts of a secret society that James Potter was a member of, the manipulations of Mordred started falling apart.

Remus Lupin further muddied the waters after the attack on Longbottom estate, by hiding Sirius Black so well that not even the combined eyes of the entire Wizard world could find them."

He looked at Remus. "I don't suppose you would care to tell us where you were during that time?"

Remus scratched his head. "Not really. With Mordred still out there, we may need that place again."

Wizard Inkee nodded. "A wise precaution. To continue the story, the Longbottoms further confused us by supposedly dying. Mordred's manipulations convinced us that Sirius and Remus were in fact the darkest of Wizards, and had we caught them at that point, it is very likely that they would have died without ever telling their side of the story.

We did not catch them, however, and Mordred lost Peter Pettigrew, who is still missing."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other. The rat was hiding, was he? Good. They knew him better than anyone and they'd have they best chance of finding him.

"Further investigations at Hogwarts has cleared every other teacher of involvement in Mordred's plots. Even the half Giant grounds keeper didn't know that Mordred was anything more than Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, and leader of a group that fought You-Know-Who called the Order of the Phoenix. As many members of that group as can be found have been interrogated under Veritaserum and they have been cleared of any wrongdoing with the exception of one. One Severus Snape, who is also among the missing, was Mordred's eyes and ears inside You-Know-Who's camp, and seems to be the one that started the entire problem."

Remus and Sirius snarled in unison. "We should have known that git would be involved," Remus said quietly. Lemos was not surprised at the hatred the two showed. The feud between Black and Snape while they were in Hogwarts had been one of the things everyone he'd talked to had remembered well. Potter, Lupin and Pettigrew had been involved as well, but everyone agreed that Black and Snape were the two it centred around.

"Mordred hired a new Divinations teacher and during the interview, the woman gave a true Prophecy. Snape, who heard some portion of the Prophecy, told You-Know-Who the part he heard. That bit led the Dark Lord to attack the Potters."

Wizard Inkee looked at Sirius and Remus. "In the wills of the Potters, you two are asked to look after Harry Potter. While this would not be a problem under normal circumstances, the Wizengamot has two problems with that right now."

Sirius rose to his feet, controlling his temper by only the smallest of margins. "What would those be?"

"Harry Potter has become an Icon to most Wizards, and you have been a less than exemplary Wizard to date, Mr. Black. Your companion is also a werewolf."

Sirius was about to say something when Remus rose. "Listen to you. Espousing the tenets of Mordred's desires perfectly. You just heard that he made us hate other races for no better reason than they were different, and here you stand, willing to live with his manipulations."

Wizard Inkee frowned. "It is true that I personally don't know anything about you, Mr. Lupin."

"I'll make you a deal," Remus said. "If you can find one person who can show proof that I am not a good person, dedicated to the Light, I will withdraw my claim on Harry." He looked at the people around him. "Until then, I will defend Harry and Sirius with every breath in my body." Remus sat down.

The Chamber was silent for a minute and then Frank stood up. "Mr. Lupin was a fellow classmate of mine for several years, and according to the papers, he was a werewolf the entire time. And yet, I didn't know it, nor did anyone I know. In fact, given the grapevine at Hogwarts, I would say that few people could have known, or else everyone would have known."

Sirius looked up. "To be honest, at least five people knew that Remus was a werewolf. James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and I knew, and we found Remus to be a good man. We helped cover for him and his furry little problem. Albus Dumbledore also knew, because he made it possible for Remus to attend Hogwarts."

Sirius sighed. "I once did something extremely foolish, and I have no excuse now. Severus Snape also knew." Sirius told them about the prank he'd pulled on Severus and how James Potter had saved him, at the risk of his own life. "Looking back, I understand that what I did was wrong, and stupid. I can only say that I was a foolish youngster."

Wizard Inkee frowned. "You are not helping your case at this point, Mr. Black."

Sirius looked up. "I suppose not, but had I 'forgotten' to tell you about that, and you found out later, I would be in worse condition. Like Remus, I am barely twenty, and I have no reputation that doesn't revolve around Hogwarts. I will admit that I was not a perfect student, nor a perfect man, but like Remus, I defy anyone willing to come forward to show that I am Dark. In fact, I think you will find that my own mother has cast me from the Black family for the crime of being unwilling to follow Voldemort."

Sirius listened to the gasps and looked around. "It's a name, the name of a dead man. He cannot come for you now, and you have all his people in custody, so why do you persist in using that other name for him?"

Markus Inkee looked at Sirius and sighed. "Because it is a habit. It has become so over the last few years. Also, we do not have all of his Death Eaters, yet."

Sirius nodded. He was trying anything he could think of on the spur of the moment to keep Harry. "Habit, custom, these things are what Mordred was counting on. Even knowing what I know now, I still think of him as Headmaster and Albus Dumbledore. Voldemort," Sirius cocked his head. "Was there anything in Mordred's things that explained why he didn't help Voldemort?"

Wizard Inkee nodded. "He made a few overtures to the Dark Lord, but You-" He saw Sirius watching him. "V-Voldemort would not share power, nor allow Mordred to become the power behind the throne."

Sirius grinned at him. "It gets easier to say, the more times you do it. But, in regards to my problem,"

"Possibly, we could make it not a problem" Sirius looked at the person that had interrupted him and his eyes narrowed. The Greengrasses had been notable over the last twenty years only for being unnoticeable. He struggled to remember the name of the current head of the family and came up blank.

"I am Reginald Greengrass, and I am Harry Potter's nearest living relative, on his father's side. I am also a member of the Windenmere families."

Markus Inkee frowned. "That is not a good recommendation," he said dryly.

"I understand that," Reginald said serenely, "but while my morals may be in question, does anyone here want to say we don't look after family?"

Inkee frowned again. "That is true, but what about the other? Can you prove you are not Dark?"

Reginald rolled up his sleeves and held up his wand. "I swear that none of my family follow any dark lord, or have any intentions of becoming a dark lord at this time." The flash of a magical oath filled the chamber for a second. He looked around. "Now, as regarding our supposed morality problem, Remus Lupin is a good man, by all accounts. If he were to come with Harry Potter, he could be the child's moral compass. Sirius Black, while a bit less good, is fiercely protective of Harry Potter, and would not allow us to do anything against his and Remus's wishes."

Markus Inkee thought about it. "It would settle all of the problems at once."

Remus stood, pulling a book from under his robes. "It would also answer one more thing, that James and Lily wanted for Harry." He went on to explain about the 'Bonds of Blood', how they would keep anyone intending harm to Harry from finding him. "By having the three of us go with the Greengrasses, Harry would get that additional protection."

Wizard Inkee looked at the Wizengamot. "How say you? Those willing to allow the Greengrasses, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin to raise Harry Potter raise a white light."

Sirius watched tensely as a small horde of white lights rose. He held Harry tightly. "Those opposed, raise a red light." Again, a small forest of wands rose, showing red lights this time.

"Point of order, sir. Until this vote is over, Sirius Black is still Harry Potter's guardian, and has the Potter vote." Reginald smiled at Sirius. "I believe we know which way he'd vote, Wizard Inkee."

Wizard Inkee nodded. "That is true. Add one more vote to the in favour tally."

A Wizard brought the final tallies to Wizard Inkee. He looked at them and looked up. "By a vote of sixty-three to sixty, the motion is carried."

Sirius nearly cheered, until he realized that would not be good right now. _"James finally got his wish,"_ he thought sadly, _"I'm going to have to grow up, if I want to keep Harry._"

Reginald Greengrass looked at Sirius and handed him a small amulet. "This Portkey will bring you to the Greengrass Seat. I believe we have much to discuss, after this meeting is over."

Wizard Inkee continued detailing what they knew and could prove about the manipulations of Mordred. When he was finished, he looked at the silent Chamber.

"Mordred's manoeuvres cover more than twelve hundred years of Wizard history. Small things in the beginning, but increasing in scope until he was one small step from assuming control of the Wizard world. He has escaped, and I must assume that his manipulations will not end, simply because this plan failed.

The task before us now, is deciding how much we tell the people that are not here. That we have to tell them some of it is a given. Too many things have come to light and already been said not to tell them something."

Reginald Greengrass stood up. "Honoured Wizards, I must make a press for complete disclosure. Somewhere out there is a Wizard willing to do anything to accomplish his goals, and who knows what small bit of information will stop him next time?"

Another Wizard stood up. "I must respectively disagree. The knowledge that Albus Dumbledore was an evil man is going to shake the foundations of the world as we know it. To reveal everything he has done could destroy our very society."

"A society he created," came a call from another Wizard, "full of bias and hatred. Would it be such a bad thing to change it somewhat?"

"I am rather more concerned with something else revealed here today," said a Witch, as she stood up. "Mordred claims that the Muggles could destroy us in hours, if they were to find out about us. How?"

Greengrass rose again. "The Windenmere group has some connections in the Muggle world, and I am sad to say that Mordred's information is sadly out of date. The Muggles have advanced in leaps and bounds while we held to tradition. If they decided to destroy us, they could level Diagon Alley in less time than it takes me to tell you about it. We have been working on things to protect our families, but the simple matter is, the Muggles have dozens of ways to destroy things, and if they were to find out about us, and they decided to do so, they could eliminate every Wizard in the world in days."

Wizard Inkee looked at Reginald. "Why haven't you brought this forward before?"

"Who would believe it? The average Wizard still thinks the Muggles are living in houses with torches and open fire pits. They have failed to see so much. How many of you are aware that a Muggle can talk to another Muggle anywhere in the world, using a thing they call satellite telephony? That they have walked on the very moon, or sent machines past the limits of our solar system?"

"Rubbish," snorted an older Wizard, "Men can't walk on the moon."

"Wizards can't. Muggles can, and have." Reginald pulled a newspaper from his robes. He tapped it with his wand and it expanded, until everyone there could read it. "I will leave this for the Unspeakables to confirm, but Muggles are building a 'space station', which is a house of sorts in outer space. They will be able to live in a place we can't even reach, not with a Portkey or Apparation."

The Wizards looked at the picture on the cover of the paper and murmured among themselves. "This is part of why I call for full disclosure. We need to start changing with the world, or we will go the way of every creature that does not change or adapt. They slide into death, and become extinct." Reginald looked up. "You say things about our morals, whisper behind our backs, and we don't really care. We have been trying to save our families from the things we see coming."

He raised his hand as a murmur rose. "If you do not want to believe me, look around you. How many classrooms in Hogwarts are empty, unneeded? How many Pureblood families are having Squibs? The most intelligent Witch of this age, Lily Evans-Potter, was a Muggleborn, as are several of the most powerful Wizards, including Voldemort, who was a half Blood."

The Wizengamot erupted again. "CALM DOWN!" Reginald released the 'Sonorus' spell in the silence that followed. "Breeding is a great thing, I will not deny it. We use it on owls, and several other creatures. But, when we do so, we are after a skill or ability that one owl has that the other doesn't. When the Pureblood families breed, they only look at the length of Wizard blood, not intelligence, magical power, not even looks." He looked around at the people staring silently at him, noting several looks of hatred, and even more thoughtful looks. "I will send a book, written by Muggles, on basic breeding to anyone that wants it. It details the problems of uncontrolled breeding, as well as breeding controls. Before you decide that your child should marry someone, you should read the sections on inbreeding and sectional breeding."

Sirius stood up. "This, I know somewhat about. One of my uncles was locked in the attic until his death, because he was a Squib. The Black temper is real, and has gotten worse over time, and the Blacks have a very limited group of families they will marry into. I would assume that those two things are connected."

The argument continued, with people speaking up from a thousand viewpoints. It was well after midnight when they finally came to a decision.

Sirius Black thought about it as he sat holding the sleeping Harry. The Wizengamot's decision was a compromise that pleased no one, and offended no one. They would release the 'Book of Mordred' and anyone that wished to read it could. They would reveal the manipulations of Mordred, in a Ministry report that anyone was free to read. It went unspoken in the Wizengamot that Ministry reports were rarely read, even in the Ministry.

The Wizengamot would examine the laws, looking for ones that were unfair to any one not of a Pureblood line and strike them from the books. The Dark Creature laws would would 'be looked at', which Sirius and Remus had taken for double talk, a way to make it look like they were doing something without doing anything.

The whole breeding problem was deemed to be a private affair, that each family would have to deal with in their own way.

Basically, as Sirius saw it, the Wizengamot was going to go with the status quo and continue sticking their collective heads in the sand, hoping the problems would go away. Remus agreed, and the two of them were spending a great deal of time thinking about it.

Sirius winced, and rubbed his temples. All this thinking was giving him a headache. He looked at Remus, who was scribbling on a parchment. He looked over Remus' shoulder, who automatically covered what he was writing and started to tell Sirius to write his own work.

He stopped and the two men grinned at each other. "Old habits die hard, don't they, Moony?"

"Mr Moony thinks that Mr. Padfoot should be looking after Mr. Cub, and not worrying about what I'm writing."

"Mr. Padfoot thinks you may be correct, but that Mr. Pronglet needs a Marauder name of his own."

"Mr. Moony concurs, but notes the difficulty of giving him one until he has a form of his own."

"Mr. Padfoot agrees, and wonders at what age you can learn such a thing."

"I don't know, but you will not be giving him that potion until we have found out." Remus stared at Sirius. "We are not going to be taking Harry to a Healer simply because you want him to have his form a year or two sooner."

Sirius frowned at Remus. "Moony, I have done a lot of foolish things, but I will never take chances with Harry."

_**OoOoOoO Sirius, Remus and Harry, The Greengrass Seat, 25DEC1982 OoOoOoO**_

Sirius and Remus watched as Harry ignored the toys and gifts he'd gotten to play in the brightly coloured wrapping paper and boxes that the gifts had come in. They looked at each other. "We could have saved a lot," Sirius said dryly, "by simply giving him the paper to begin with."

"And the boxes," Donnetta Greengrass said with a smile, as she watched her daughter, Daphne playing with her boxes. "How could you forget the boxes?"

Sirius sat back and looked at Harry. He had not changed much in the last year, unlike the society that he lived in. Many of the leading Pureblood families had lost family heads and heirs in the Death Eater purges after the fall of Voldemort and the discovery of a Dark Lord a hundred times more dangerous.

The man who had masqueraded as Albus Dumbledore for forty years had disappeared completely, but no one believed he was gone. A man who spent twelve hundred years manipulating the Wizard world would not give up because a single plan failed, and everyone knew that he would be back.

What they would do about it, was still up for debate. No one had yet figured out how he'd fooled everyone into believing he was Dumbledore, even his brother. No one that is, except Remus, who knew exactly how he'd done it, but not how to tell people how he knew, or that his source was a woman considered to be very nearly as dark as Mordred himself.

Madame Morgana was the direct magical heir of the Morgana herself, and had all her spells, as well as the hundreds of spells her namesakes had created in the years since her death. Remus had seen the spell that allowed a person to absorb every memory of another person, as if they had truly lived them, and it was as Dark as anything he'd ever heard of.

It literally dissolved the brain of the victim as it transferred the information to the caster, and that is why Mordred had killed Albus Dumbledore. The physical hulk left behind would have given his game away.

Remus had found only one way to defend against that spell, and that was not to be hit by it. Other than that, it was dangerous to the caster, because after a victim was hit, the caster and the victim would be immobilized for the time it took to absorb the victim's mind. That could be anything from two minutes to ten minutes, depending on how many experiences the victim had to transfer.

The spell that allowed one to assume another's shape indefinitely was the same one Madame Morgana had used on Remus and Sirius the day of the Wizengamot meeting. Until the person it was cast on spoke their full name, they were the person that they had been changed into, and no spell or ward could tell differently.

Morgana le Fay had created the first spell, and Merlin himself had created the second. That spell was only known to a handful of Unspeakables, as Remus had told them about it, and how it had to be broken.

That meant that the Aurors had gotten a law passed that any Auror could ask you to speak Mordred le Fay's name, if there was any doubt about who you were. So far, no one had figured out where Mordred had gone, despite a full team of ten Aurors on full time search for him.

Sirius shook off those thoughts as Harry came to him. "Padfoot play wit me."

Sirius smiled at him, and got down on the floor. Remus watched with amusement as Harry 'pushed' Sirius over, and jumped on his belly. "Oof! Mr. Padfoot is thinking that Mr. Harry is getting too big to be doing this much longer."

Harry looked at him, cocking his head to the side in that mannerism so like Lily. "Mr. Harry likes jump." He demonstrated by jumping on Sirius again.

Remus' laughter echoed with Donnetta's, as Daphne, seeing the new game, joined Harry in jumping on Sirius.

_**OoOoOoO Mordred le Fay, Somewhere in Britain, 25DEC1982. OoOoOoO**_

Mordred sighed as his 'mother' carried him upstairs for yet another nap. He'd forgotten the incredibly mundane stuff children had to put up with, but he really hadn't had a choice.

He had to be close to Harry Potter, and the easiest way to do that was to be in his year at Hogwarts. As the Headmaster, he'd known that Harry's education was already paid for, and that he would get his owl for Hogwarts. From there, it was simply a matter of choosing a child that would be in the same year. Mordred had thought about using a girl's form, but that would have delayed the time when he could be close to Harry. He had wanted a Pureblood family, one that was not in turmoil over the Death Eater scandals, and there had been more than enough to choose from.

The child he has eventually chosen was perfect. A Pureblood, but common enough that not going to Slytherin would not be remarkable. The only problem Mordred had now, was waiting nine more years to start his new plans, ones that would end in his obtaining Voldemort's power and followers, while keeping him in the Light side's good graces. He'd gotten used to playing the hero, and he liked the additional power that came from being a hero.

Besides, the game would be more fun if he played both sides again.

_**OoOoOoO Remus, Sirius and Harry, Sirius' House, 03MAY1991. OoOoOoO**_

Harry watched Sirius change again. "Being an Animagus is not as difficult as the Ministry would have everyone believe. Witness the three of us working it out, and the sheer number of them in the Windenmere group."

The Windenmere group of families had a strange reputation. Considered Immoral for their lifestyle, they were as driven by custom as any other Wizard, even if those customs were vastly different than most Wizards.

One of the things that set them apart was their use of Muggles and Muggle things. Many of the Windenmere families had businesses or contacts among the Muggles, without letting the Muggles know about Wizards. They were far more open about nudity and sex than the rest of the Wizard world, almost on a par with the Muggle world in that regard.

One of the more common habits they had was testing every child for the Animagus ability, and training them in it if they could learn it. Where most Wizards believed it to be incredibly difficult to do, the Windenmere group knew that was simply not so. It required training, yes, but it was no harder than Legilimency or Occlumency. What it was, and the reason the Ministry tried to keep such a tight control on it, was a way to avoid wards and spells. There were no wards that could tell the difference between an Animagus and a normal animal of the same type. There was a spell, but it was an instant cast type spell, meaning you had to cast it on a target. Without a target in sight, and in their Animagus shape, the spell was worthless.

That meant that anyone in an Animagus shape was invisible to the Wizard world for all practical purposes.

Maire smiled at Harry. "Harry Potter will do well. If Sirius Black can do it, Harry Potter can as well."

Madame Morgana and Maire had been regular visitors and hosts to the trio over the years. Sirius was still dubious about the pair of them, but they had proven to have simple goals.

Madame Morgana wanted fur and blood from Remus, and she allowed him to use her werewolf containment room during the full moon in return for it. Harry had gone with Remus several times, as Sirius often wanted to keep Remus company during that time, as the Marauders had during their time at school.

In order for that to happen, the Greengrass family head had to be told where they were going, and after some hesitation, and a consultation with Madame Morgana, Reginald was told about Madame Morgana. To Remus and Sirius' surprise, Reginald had not been shocked, but pleased. "After all, you two are not family, but you know a great deal about us that would get us in trouble with the Ministry, and now we have something to prevent that."

Madame Morgana had also been interested in charting the effects of Harry's Curse scar, and the results of being the only know survivor of a Killing Curse. She had learned a few things, and had a few theories, but some of them would have to wait on Harry reaching puberty.

Madame Morgana had taught Harry to read, much as she had Remus, and Harry was beginning to enjoy learning as much as Remus did. Maire taught Harry things as well, of a less harmless nature, but her primary interest in the trio had been Remus, not Harry.

In early 1983, Maire had come to Sirius' home and walked up to Remus. "You interest me, Remus Lupin. I have no social graces, so I will simply ask you outright. Will you go to bed with me?"

Remus had said no. "Not because I do not like you," he had told her gently, "but because I want there to be love before there is sex. Sex is nothing but pleasant exercise without love."

Maire had considered that for a minute and then looked at Remus. "Then you will teach me about love."

That strange courtship had taken more than two years, and no one but the two involved knew exactly when friendship had become love, and only they knew how long they had been sleeping together before the first time Sirius came to breakfast to find Remus and Maire eating together, dressed in their nightclothes still.

Since then, Maire had completed her Apprenticeship with Madame Morgana and had moved in with Remus. She had not changed much, but she hid the violence that was her nature far better than she had before. That the Windenmere people accepted her as she was, and even admired her skill at curses had helped.

Maire had taken readily to the Windenmere lifestyle, being more accepting of almost anything. That had also helped her standing with the Windenmeres.

She was still touchy about the scar on her face, and only Remus knew how she'd gotten it.

Sirius, on the other hand, was enjoying his status as a single male in the Windenmere group. Since they had few hang ups about sex, Sirius could ask an unattached female if she'd care to share a bed for a few days or weeks, and not be slapped. If she wasn't interested, she'd say so. If she was, they had fun until they went their separate ways.

Sirius had been surprised the first time a woman asked him to share her bed, but he had overcome his shock and agreed. Since then, the invitations had gone both ways, and Sirius didn't seem to be in any hurry to settle down. "It may only be pleasant exercise," he'd told Remus smugly, "but it keeps me in shape."

Sirius had tried to replace his beloved motorcycle, but his knee wouldn't bend enough for him to ride it, and he regretfully put it up until Harry was old enough and big enough to ride it. He was very careful to keep the new bike well maintained until Harry could claim it.

Which, in Remus' eyes, would be the day after Remus died.

Harry had learned a great deal about things and magic growing up.

From Sirius and Remus he learned pranks, Transfigurations and charms, from Maire and Madame Morgana, he learned about Hexes and Curses, and from Donnetta Greengrass, he learned Potions and sneakiness. From almost everyone he knew, he learn to question authority, and never to take anything at face value. The Windenmere group taught him about Muggles and morals, until Harry could adapt to any situation. As one of his trainers in Muggle ways said, "When in Rome, son, do as the Romans do. If they rub blue mud in their belly buttons, you do it just the same way."

Remus taught him to study, and a love of learning for learning's sake, while Sirius taught him how to have a good time. The Windenmeres taught him about ambition and pride, and a family loyalty that was their trademark.

Harry taught them all a thing or two as he grew up. His ability as a Parselmouth came to light when he was caught talking to the snakes he was supposed to be feeding. Sirius left his Broomstick out one day, and Harry was found after an intensive search, nearly five kilometres from the Estate, flying around and exploring the countryside. It took nearly ten minutes to catch him after he was found, because he decided the grown ups had come to play tag.

Broomsticks were watched far more carefully after that, but Harry didn't lack for flight time.

Only two things marred Harry's life growing up. Bellatrix Lestrange had sent Sirius a formal declaration of Bloodfeud, registered in the Wizengamot and completely legal.

That meant that any member of the Lestrange family could attack any member of Sirius' family without warning or provocation, and it would be considered a Duel. It worked the other way as well, but no one had seen any of the Lestranges since before Voldemort's death. Bella had told Sirius that they would consider Harry family as far as the feud went.

Since then, the Lestranges had killed Narcissa Malfoy, and Sirius's mother, leaving just three Blacks. Sirius, Andromeda, who was a Tonks now, and who had disappeared with Nymphadora and her husband into the Muggle world, appearing only rarely in the Wizard world. Bellatrix would have been considered a Black as well, but Sirius had taken the duel to the Wizengamot and formally disowned her, removing her from the family. While Sirius' mother had hated him, the Lestranges had killed her before she could remove Sirius the same way. With her death, Sirius had inherited the Black family, since Andromeda had been disallowed by the family laws.

The other thing was the growing concern that Voldemort would be back. At least eight of his Death Eaters, including Severus Snape, Peter Pettigrew, the Lestranges and a few others had never been captured, and rumours were spreading that Voldemort was still out there, trying to create a body for himself.

There were also many of the older families that had supported him, but who had not taken the Dark Mark, and could claim to have been coerced, one way or another.

So the years had passed, with Harry growing up to ignore the opinions of people that didn't matter to him, in the Windenmere way, but with a sense of compassion for others that Sirius swore was Lily's, and a sense of right and wrong that was James all over again.

Harry had been taken with being the Boy Who Lived for a few months, until Remus and Sirius started making him answer all of his own fan mail. Writing twenty or thirty letters a day had soon dulled the pleasure of the title, and Remus' talk about what that title had cost him killed any real pleasure in it for Harry. Harry had also been young enough that the declarations of love from various girls around his age had been gross, rather than the fun it would be in a few years.

All of that had led to this day, just two weeks after the Animagus trainer for the Greengrasses had said that Harry was ready to try to learn his shape. Harry had been well taken care of, with the Windenmere group, Sirius, Remus, Madame Morgana and the Wizengamot all closely watching how he was raised.

Harry was a tall lad, a couple of centimetres taller than James had been at the same age. His hair had not changed since he had grown it out for Sirius in the Wizengamot, and it seemed that while Harry might have a trace of the Metamorphmagus talent, it was entirely unconscious, as the only thing he could do with it was keep his hair the same, no matter what pranks Sirius tried to play on him.

It was black and no Muggle or magical treatment could make it lay straight. Harry's scar was usually covered by his bangs, and Harry rarely even thought of it these days. His eyes were the shining green of his mother, which he used to great advantage on Remus and Sirius, who had both adored Lily. The need for glasses had been changed with a potion, or rather, a series of them, as soon as it was discovered that Harry couldn't see right.

Sirius was all for getting a pair of glasses for Harry with a goodly number of charms built into them, but Remus talked him out of it. Or, so he thought anyway. The Windenmere group had found a recent Muggle invention called contacts, and it was quite interesting, the things that could be done with them.

Remus was possibly the only member of their family that didn't have a set of magical contacts, and that was only because they irritated his eyes. Something about his werewolf nature made them impossible to wear. Maire had several sets, and all of them were a different colour.

Harry was a wiry youth, who radiated good health and a boundless energy, some of which was the result of an active lifestyle, and some of which was just Harry. Madame Morgana had long ago found the link to Voldemort in Harry's mind, and Occlumency lessons had started a week later.

That link though, worked both ways, and with Voldemort out of body, Harry had near total control of both of their magical abilities, which gave him a pool of magic unlike anyone else's. If and when Voldemort regained his own body, Harry would lose that power of course, but right now it was allowing him to master skills and spells he shouldn't be able to cast yet.

"Are you going to give Harry Potter his potion, Sirius Black, or are we going to stand here and watch you stare at him all day?"

Sirius blinked, startled out of his thoughts by Maire's impatient comment. Sirius handed Harry a small vial. "The first step is finding out what your form is. This potion will unlock the animal in you, and then it will simply be a matter of work, as you learn to change."

Harry eyed the vial dubiously. "I'd feel a lot better about this," he said with a smile, "if you hadn't put the potion in one of Maire's poison vials. Which of you washed the vial?"

Remus grinned. "Maire made it, as you know well, Pup. Would you like to tell her she doesn't know how to clean her vials?"

Maire looked at at Harry with a smile. "Yes , Harry Potter, do tell me how bad I am in the lab."

Harry sighed and bowed floridly to Maire. "And fair lady, how then could I ever do that? For surely, thou hast skills and arts far beyond my mere mortal mind."

Remus and Sirius winced and Maire shook her head. "Harry Potter," she said in a pained voice, "I know you liked Shakespeare, but please, don't do that."

Harry sighed. "I will get the hang of it one of these days. It will be great fun." He grinned at the adults and drank the potion in one swift gulp.

Harry sat down suddenly, and then changed.

Sirius stared at him. Remus stared at him, and even Maire stared. Sirius cleared his throat. "I thought people couldn't become magical animals." Remus and Sirius were so shocked at Harry's form that they didn't notice Maire taking a step backwards.

Remus sighed. "It's not magical. It is an normal animal, although, I've never heard of anyone becoming one before."

Maire tucked something away in her robes and stepped up to examine Harry. "Strange looking beast in person. I've read about them, of course. It figures Harry would have poison. He should have small spurs on his ankles, which are poisonous."

Remus nodded. "What do you think? About half a meter long, isn't he? Fascinating, how he has fur and webbed feet. I imagine the flat tail helps him swim."

Sirius looked at Remus as if he'd lost his mind. "Oh, it's a great tail, it goes so well with the duck bill on his face. What is wrong with you? Harry's shape is a, a,... what is he exactly, anyway?"

Remus sighed. "I am interested, because there isn't anything else I can do. The potion only reveals your shape, it's not like we can change it. Harry's Animagus shape is a Duck-billed platypus."

Sirius and Remus stared at Harry, calmly waddling around the floor.

"Mr Padfoot has no words."

"Mr. Moony agrees, except to ask what kind of Marauder name comes from a platypus?"

"Mr. Padfoot is quite unable to answer that."

Harry changed back then and stood up. "Did you see that? It was so cool. I can swim, and I'll be poisonous, without being a snake."

Remus and Sirius looked at each other. Harry was happy about it. "It's," Sirius cast about for something to say, "the nicest looking platypus I've ever seen."

"Oh yes," agreed Remus hastily, "quite the nicest one I've ever seen in person."

They were both trying to think of something else to say when Harry and Maire looked at each other, and burst out laughing. Harry stopped after a minute. "Did you get the picture?"

Maire smiled and patted her robes. "Three of them. The two of them were so shocked about what you'd become, they never even noticed."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other as the other two laughed.

"Mr. Moony thinks that something funny going on."

"Mr. Padfoot agrees, and thinks that Miss Connelly has something to do with it."

Harry smirked at them.. "Mr. PupCubPronglet thinks that this was his idea, and that Miss Maire only helped with the potion."

"Mr. Moony must admit that Mr. Padfoot did look quite funny, when he saw Mr. Cub."

"Mr. Padfoot has never seen Mr. Moony open his mouth that far, except under his furry little problem."

"Mr. Moony wonders if, having had their fun, we can get to the business of the day."

"Mr. Padfoot will remind Mr. Moony later that his lady has some pictures we need back. We do have reputations to consider."

Maire smirked at them. "Miss Maire will allow Mr. Remus to convince her to give up two pictures. The other one is Mr. Harry Potter's."

Harry grinned and produced the vial Sirius had given him, which he had switched with Maire's potion while they distracted the men with the Shakespeare talk. He raised it and said "Cheers" and drained it quickly. "Blech, Madame Morgana makes better potions."

Maire looked offended, but before he could say anything, Harry sat and transformed again.

Sirius and Remus examined Harry in silence for a minute. "This should have been obvious, given his love of flying, and how good he is."

"Very true, Sirius. Goodness, he's a large one, isn't he?"

"Yes, and that beak looks downright dangerous."

Maire was looking at Harry as well. "He's an Eagle owl, isn't he?"

Remus nodded. "I don't recognize exactly which one, but I think the colouration is all Harry."

Harry had become an eagle owl,with mostly black feathers, the same shade as his hair. His eyes were instantly noticeable, as they had not changed colour at all. His tufts were a light grey, and his belly and the underside of his wings was the same light grey.

Harry spread his wings and turned his head, examining his wings. Before anyone could say anything, he began beating his wings. Before he could get more than an inch or two off the ground, he reverted back to himself.

He stood up and his eyes were nearly glowing. "Did you see that? I can fly." Harry's voice was full of wonder.

Sirius looked at Remus. "Locking up the Broomsticks was easy. You get to figure out how to ground him now," he said dryly.

Remus looked at Sirius. "You're his Godfather," he protested, "why aren't you doing it?"

Sirius looked sheepish. "I'm also the Animagus with a hundred stories of the things we did as Animagi, while you are not. It would be wrong of me to tell him about all the things we did with his father, and then deny him the same rights."

Harry watched them closely. "I'm not going to be flying to Surrey tomorrow. I have still have to research my form, learn to shift on my own and then learn to fly." He smiled slyly. "You have at least a week or two before you have to worry about me flying away."

Sirius sighed. "I'd be happier if he wasn't so good at learning things. He could be right about the time period."

_**OoOoOoO Harry and his friends, 31JUL1991. OoOoOoO**_

Harry woke up and looked out the window. The sun was not up yet, but the light out of Harry's window showed that the dawn was coming. He grinned and got out of bed. He was turning eleven today, and his Hogwarts owl should be coming. He sat on the mat that he'd been given when he started the meditations that made Occlumency easier.

Fifteen minutes later he had finished his Occlumency exercises and was deep in his Legilimency exercises, something he wasn't supposed to be learning yet, according to Remus and Sirius. Harry had long ago found that what one adult may not teach you, can be taught by another, especially in the Windenmere group, if you approached the next adult properly.

When he had finished that, he smiled in joy and shifted. Harry stretched his wings and controlled the desire to go flying. Today was not the day to lead the mail owls on a long chase. No matter how much fun they all had at it, except the owls with heavy loads.

He practised his shifting between forms a few times, striving to become as fast as Sirius was, or as fast as his trainer, who could shift from human to seal so fast that you couldn't see the change, only a quick blur.

Sirius and his trainer had years of experience on Harry though, and Harry's best time right now was eight seconds. He was doing well to have it down that far, according to his trainer, but Harry had been watching Sirius change in less than a second his entire life, and he was determined to be that quick.

Harry practised changing until he got the light headed feeling that meant he was approaching his limits and went to take a shower. Despite what people thought, using the Mental Arts, the name the Windenmere group used for the magical skills that didn't require a wand or words, was work, and could make you sweat.

Harry finished his shower and looked in the mirror. He sighed. He was going to be thin forever, apparently, even if he was well toned. Harry had been in the Muggle world enough that he understood the use of a set of muscles in intimidation and protection. Few people would attack a person with large muscles, and fewer wanted him angry with them.

Harry grinned at the thought of his next Muggle visit, a week before Hogwarts started the term. They were going to go see Tonks, who was teaching him about the Metamorphmagus talent, trying to get him to do anything with his hair, or any other part of his body. Harry had felt something strange the last time they'd been working on it, and he held out his hand. Changing into his Animagus form had helped him visualize the changes Tonks had told him about, and hindered him at the same time.

When Harry tried to change, he kept thinking of his bird form, and the Metamorphmagus talent couldn't do non human forms, so it failed. Harry watched his fingernails grow and then shrink with a smile. He'd finally mastered separating the two skills.

After they went to Tonks for his lessons, they were going to the museum, to see an exhibit on space and time. After that Harry had one more lesson with Master Han in Tae kwon do. Harry had realized that being smaller could be an advantage sometimes, but it could also be a bad thing, if he lost his wand. A bit of research and a few questions had given him the answer.

Many of the Windenmere group that went into the Muggle world had brought back an interest in martial arts, as the art forms they could be. Harry was looking for an equalizer, and he found one that suited him in the leaps and kicks of Tae kwon do.

Between Broomsticks and his eagle owl form, Harry had spent as much as fifteen hours in the air in a single day, and Tae kwon do's constant movement and leaping kicks was one that Harry had liked from his first exposure. It was a bit more aggressive than Harry normally was, but that was also a good thing in Harry's mind. People who didn't know him well, would never expect serious mayhem from him, and the added surprise would be helpful.

Harry finished dressing, in Muggle jeans and a simple t-shirt with "You have my complete attention until somebody better comes along" written on it and touched his wand to his door. He found a new spell added over his wards and smirked. Sirius, most likely.

Harry sighed and checked his window. Yes, they'd thought of that as well. He spent a minute pondering this. Let them have a few minute's fun, or find a way to break this annoyance. He thought about using the secret door in his room, but quickly thought better of that. If he used it too much, they'd figure out that he had found it and he wouldn't be able to use it when he really wanted to.

Finally, Harry decided that he didn't want to be looking over his shoulder all day. There were going to be too many people here for him to be worrying about a prank war with Sirius. He did make a note to pay Sirius or Remus, or whoever had done this for whatever was about to happen to him.

He took a deep breath and opened his door. The gut pulling feeling of a Portkey took him and Harry staggered, almost falling as he disappeared.

It was a short trip, and Harry ended up in the formal dining hall of the Greengrass manor that had been his home for ten years.

"Surprise!!"

Harry looked around and smiled. It hadn't been a prank, just a party, and Harry couldn't get upset about that. He smiled as the people here crowded around.

Sirius and Remus were here of course, and Maire stood in the back, smiling at him. Next to her was a woman that raised Harry's eyebrows for a minute. It was Madame Morgana, in her 'going out' form. She'd been here barely a handful of times, and Harry was touched, that she would be here now.

After Sirius and Remus, Daphne Greengrass, Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy greeted him. Daphne and Blaise were both Windenmeres, and Harry had grown up with them, considering them siblings. Some of his closest relatives were here, as well as Sirius, the last living Black, Malfoy's closest relative. When Daphne greeted him, Harry had a couple of quick words with her, and she nodded and went to speak softly to Madame Morgana. Draco Malfoy had come to the Windenmere group after Rabin Lestrange had killed Narcissa and Lucius had died in Azkaban.

Malfoy had asked for sanctuary, and it had been granted. It had taken the Malfoy heir a long time to lose the Pureblood sneer and attitude, but he was becoming a decent enough sort. He would never be Harry's closest friend, but he was good enough, away from the Pureblood bigots. Harry was waiting to see what would happen when they got to Hogwarts and Draco was exposed to the Purebloods again.

Several of the younger kids were here, and a few adults that had helped the two men raise Harry. Donnetta Greengrass, Daphne's mother, and the most constant woman in Harry's life, Reginald Greengrass, Head of the Greengrass family and the leader of the Windenmere group, The Tonks', Harry's closest friends who lived in the Muggle world, and a few others.

His Mental Arts teacher looked at him critically. "How long does it take now? I can see you've been practising this morning."

Harry smiled. "Eight seconds is my best time."

Marigold Zabini raised an eyebrow. Harry had been changing for barely three months. He must be pushing himself harder than she thought to achieve those results this quickly. It usually took at least six months to break ten seconds. Of course, Harry had always been good at the Mental Arts, better than he was with the old wand that was his best match until he got his own.

Harry looked around. This was a private party, family and friends only, unlike the formal party that would happen later tonight, with selected guests from the Wizengamot, the press and other families, who would be interested in the Boy-Who-Lived, not in Harry.

He grinned at Lemos Veritaseek. "Writing your story yet?"

Lemos grinned at the young man he'd watched grow up. Harry Potter had everything any boy could ask for, except his parents, and in their place, he had a solid dozen people to take care of him. "Of course. I have a reputation, you know."

Lemos still did special stories, but he was the only reporter the Windenmeres allowed to come into their world on a regular basis, and he'd made a good deal of money on Harry Potter stories over the last decade. He had kept the reputation for honesty that he'd earned in the Mordred days, and since he could be counted on to forget to mention things that Harry or his friends would rather not be made public, he was given a great deal of latitude. Understanding that his access to Harry was a privilege, he'd been careful not to abuse it.

He smiled as he thought about having a bit of fun, knowing what Harry had planned for Hogwarts. He frowned as a cloud passed his mind. That could wait for tomorrow. This was Harry's day, and he didn't need bad news today.

Everyone looked up as an owl flew in the window charmed to open for them, and headed for Harry.

Harry held out his arm and the owl landed there gracefully, holding out one leg for Harry to take the letter there.

The smile on Harry's face left no doubt as to what it was. He tucked it in his pocket though, taking a minute to stroke the owl and thank it for her service. He gave her a treat and then let her go to the owlery for some water.

Harry's affinity for flying things was not really a surprise to anyone who knew him and they waited until the owl was gone, knowing that little things like Hogwarts acceptance letters were less important than an owl, even one he'd never see again.

Harry watched the owl until she was out the window and then turned to the humans. He looked at all the people watching him and smiled. "What?"

Sirius stared at him. "Mr. Padfoot thinks that Mr. Wings had better read his letter soon, or things will happen to him."

Remus nodded. "Mr. Moony concurs with Mr. Padfoot and adds that Miss Shaper has a new potion that causes the loss of feathers."

Maire smirked at Harry's appalled look. Maire was not an Animagus, but her Potion of Cross Species Transfiguration allowed her to take any shape she wished, and she'd been given honorary Marauder status, and the name Shaper, since she rarely used the same form twice in a row. "Miss Shaper would like to hear the letter, and reminds Mr. Wings that messing with her shape changing potions has consequences."

Harry smiled involuntarily as he remembered switching a few labels on Maire's potions. He pulled the letter from his pocket before her frown deepened. Harry opened the letter and looked at it. He frowned, reading it silently, and his mouth opened, as he stared at the letter in shock.

The rest of them looked at him, puzzled looks on their faces. Blaise, Daphne and Draco had eased to the edges of the room, where they had good views of everyone.

Harry looked up and then back at the letter. He began to read it in a shaky voice.

"_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_After grave consideration, it has been decided, that due to your reputation, family affiliations, and the general hazards of your attendance, you would be better served at Durmstrang's, and your tuition for Hogwarts is hereby refunded."_

Harry didn't get any further, as the people listening exploded.

Sirius was threatening to tear Hogwarts down and salt the earth while Maire and Remus were quite willing to help, after they finished cursing everyone in the castle.

The Greengrasses, Donnetta and Reginald were plotting feuds and even Lemos was swearing, something Harry listened to for a minute. Lemos had a beautiful turn of phrase, and Harry was so busy memorizing a few things that he almost missed his accomplices giving him the sign they were finished.

Harry tapped his throat with his wand. "Excuse me," echoed around the room, and the adults looked at him. Harry started to say something but the laughter bubbled up, and he started to smile.

The Marauders were the first to catch on. Before they could do anything, Harry was transforming and flying to the rafters, where he transformed again.

Sirius looked at Harry. "Mr. Padfoot is going to get Mr. Wings for this. Mr. Padfoot almost had a heart attack."

"Miss Shaper agrees whole heartedly with Mr. Padfoot, and will add her own vengeance."

"Mr. Moony is seriously contemplating a rather severe retribution as well."

Reginald looked at Harry and then looked around the room. He noted several absences and looked at Harry again. "Before we get carried away, I would like to know where Draco, Daphne and Blaise and Madame Morgana are."

Harry smirked at the people below him. "I believe that they should have just finished giving her the pictures just taken, while you were busy, and should be on their way back. I have decided to hold on to those pictures, and in return for a favour, Madame Morgana has agreed to hold on to them for me, until I need them."

Harry transformed and flew down, where he changed again. "You can try to take them from her, but I really don't recommend it."

Reginald sighed. "They grow up so fast, don't they? Just a few years ago, he was so trusting and innocent, and now he's plotting and planning."

Sirius was looking at Harry. "What are you planning to do with those pictures, Harry?"

Harry smiled. "I have been quietly collecting a great many pictures. Some of my own, and a few more from people that knew the Marauders in Hogwarts. I'm thinking of calling it 'A Pictorial History of the Marauders.'" Harry looked at Remus and Sirius. "I may have raided your pictures as well, although I put them back, after I copied the ones I wanted."

The other three came back in with Madam Morgana who looked at Harry. "I am quite pleased you came to me before pulling this prank, Harry Potter. I would have been most unhappy to have been caught out like that."

Harry smiled at her. "I am not stupid enough to pull a prank like that on you, Madame Morgana. At least, not yet." He smiled again. "Pulling a prank on you will take a lot of work, and I would prefer to know a few things nobody will teach me yet when I do. Apparation, for one."

Madame Morgana looked amused. "Any time you feel you can do it, Harry Potter, go ahead. I think I may find an adequate revenge."

Sirius looked at Remus. "Mr. Padfoot thinks that Mr. Wings has to be a Gryffindor, to even be thinking of pranking her."

"Mr. Moony thinks that Ravenclaw is a possibility, given that he's thinking ahead, and planning his escape."

Reginald smiled wryly at Harry. "Given the way he's become a great plotter, Slytherin is not out of the question."

Harry shrugged. "Whichever it is, I'll still be in Hogwarts, continuing the wonderful traditions of the Marauders, and seeing how many detentions I can get."

_**OoOoOoO Harry, Daphne and Blaise, Diagon Alley, 05AUG1991. OoOoOoO**_

"I think Draco is serious," Blaise said quietly, as they sat in the Leaky Cauldron, having a Butterbeer before going into the Alley for their school things. "He's already gotten his school things, and is spending the day with Madame Morgana. He really wants to apprentice to her, after he leaves Hogwarts."

Harry sighed. "He has reason enough to want to be able to curse people," he said. "Lucius' fate was his own doing, but his mother's death was the fault of the Lestranges, and they're still out there, looking for him, Sirius and anyone else connected to Sirius."

"Including you," Daphne said sharply. "So I don't want you running off today. Almost everyone knows you're going to to Hogwarts this year, and that you almost have to come to Diagon Alley for your things."

Harry smiled at his sister in all but name and blood. "Yes, mother. Besides, I couldn't run off if I wanted to. Sirius, Remus and Maire are watching us openly, and do any of us really believe they are the only ones watching over us?"

The other two looked around. "I don't see anyone, even with my eyes," Blaise said.

Harry activated the charms built into his contact lenses and looked around casually. He didn't see any invisible people, no one changed shape or size under the charms and he frowned. "I think it's a pity we couldn't figure out how to add a few charms to the lenses," he said quietly, "too many people know what our contacts can do, which isn't a bad thing, since they are all family, but it allows them to find disguises that circumvent our contacts."

Blaise smiled. "When we get to Hogwarts, we'll have all sorts of time to find a few people that can charm them for us, and that will keep quiet about it, for one reason or another."

Harry nodded, his eyes on a nervous group that had just come in the door. The two adults were obviously Muggles, by the way they stared at everything, and the young girl was holding a Hogwarts letter. Acting on impulse, Harry went over to them. "Excuse me," he said politely, "but I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be somewhat unfamiliar with the Wizard world, and I was wondering if you would care to join us, as we get our Hogwarts things."

The two adults looked relieved and the girl smiled "That would be nice, to have a native guide," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm Hermione Granger, and these are my parents."

Blaise and Daphne looked at Harry and then at each other. "There goes Harry helping people again," said Blaise. "I swear he's going to be a Hufflepuff."

Daphne grinned as she got up to join Harry. "Harry may be the first person not to get in any house. He is so much a part of all of them."

Blaise snickered. "The Boy Who Lived might just pull that off, and wouldn't that be a great prank?"

Remus and Sirius had seen what Harry was doing, and the next few minutes were introductions all around. Maire had hung back, but the Grangers said nothing about her scar and she was soon chatting with Mrs. Granger while Sirius and Remus talked to Mr. Granger. The kids ignored the adults, chatting with Hermione who had a million questions.

Remus finally looked up. "OK, Harry and Hermione need to go to Gringotts first, and the rest of us will go to Flourish and Blotts first, as I am informed that Miss Granger may spend a bit of time there, and I know Harry will."

"Dad," complained Hermione.

"Remus," said Harry at the same time.

Blaise and Daphne looked at each other. "Another Harry, with a dozen books on the list that the rest of us will never read."

Harry smirked at Blaise. "Possibly, but if you had read a few more of my books, you might not be doing my chores this week, would you?"

Blaise scowled at Harry. "You have avians on the brain, and how was I supposed to know that was even possible?"

"By reading 'Birds of Asia', like I did, of course," Harry said as the group went into the alley and Sirius tapped the bricks. The door opened and the Grangers stared in wonder. "Welcome to Diagon Alley," Harry said.

Harry and Hermione, accompanied by Maire and Remus, went to Gringotts and Sirius, who was talking motorcycles with Mr. Granger, took the others to Flourish and Blotts.

Mrs. Granger went with Hermione, chatting with Maire. Harry let Hermione go first at the counter, having fun watching her speak to a goblin for the first time. He frowned when the goblin, seeing that she was a Muggleborn, tried to raise the exchange rate. Harry cleared his throat, and the goblin looked at him. "She's a friend of mine," he said quietly, not wanting to start a fuss.

The Goblin looked at him and another stack of Galleons was placed next to the rest of them. Harry smiled. "Thank you," he said courteously, and when Hermione had her Galleons in her pocket, Harry stepped up to the counter.

Harry had known about his vault for a long time, but he'd never needed it yet, as Sirius was well off, and Harry didn't really have a lot to spend money on. "I need to access my vault, please." He handed the Goblin his key. "Of course, Mr. Potter. Griphook will take you."

Harry saw Hermione, almost bursting with curiosity and he turned back to the goblin. "May Miss Granger accompany us? She is very interested in the Gringotts vault system."

The goblin looked at Hermione who was nearly wiggling. He smiled. "Of course, Mr. Potter, although she may not enter the vault."

Harry grinned. He knew about the ride of course, he'd been here to Sirius' vault before, and Harry thought it was far better than the Muggle roller coasters. It was time to see what this girl was made of. Harry just hoped she wouldn't throw up.

Hermione followed Harry to the little car and listened to the goblin as he warned them to stay in the car. She looked at Harry "Why is that so Ahhh!"

The car started off and was dropping down and picking up speed. Hermione looked at the smiling Harry, who was watching the track in front of them. "You knew it was going to do that, didn't you?" she yelled over the car's noise.

Harry grinned and nodded. "As soon as I figure out how great your offence was, I'm going to visit retribution on you, Harry Potter."

Harry looked at Hermione with more interest. Few kids their age could sound like Remus, and Harry was beginning to understand that this girl was brighter than most. It would be nice to have a friend as intelligent as he was. Daphne and Blaise were fairly intelligent, but they'd known for a couple of years that Harry was smarter than they were, even if he didn't make a big deal about it.

After all, Maire, Madame Morgana and Remus were all smarter than Harry, as were nearly a third of the members of the families Harry had grown up with. There was no reason to brag about being smart, in a group who had been careful in their breeding over the last three hundred years.

They reached Harry's vault, and he got a decent amount of money, knowing it only had to last seven years, and then he could make more, plus whatever he had in his parent's vault, sealed now until Harry was of age.

He smiled as Hermione watched the track with him on the way back. She wasn't a coward anyway. They rejoined Remus, Maire and Mrs. Granger, and they started toward Flourish and Botts, only to have Harry come to a dead stop.

Remus sighed. "The owl emporium. We may never get him out of there."

Harry wasn't interested in the store though. In a cage sitting outside the store was the most beautiful owl he'd ever seen. A Snowy owl, she was white with small brown and grey marking on her body. She looked at Harry and Harry could only stare. She hooted softly and Harry shook his head. "Of course I'm going to buy you. Wait here." Harry disappeared into the store, and was back in less than two minutes. He held out his arm. "Come on girl, you're coming home with me."

The owl bobbed her head and launched herself onto Harry's arm, walking up it to stand on his shoulder. Harry reached up and stroked her gently.

Hermione was watching the scene and she looked at Remus. "Mr. Lupin, why did an owl deliver my letter anyway?"

Remus explained how owls delivered the mail. Hermione listened and asked, "So, an owl is the easiest way for my parents to contact me at Hogwarts?"

Remus nodded. "I assume there is a way for Muggleborn students to get mail, but to be honest, I have no idea what it is."

Hermione turned to her mother. "Mum, may I get an owl, please? I'm sure Harry would be glad to show me how to take care of it."

Harry looked away from his owl absently. "I would be willing to help," he said and went back to staring at his owl, who was staring back.

Mrs. Granger looked at Harry. "Hermione's not going to react like that, is she?"

Remus sighed as he watched Harry. "It is doubtful, Mrs. Granger, unless her familiar just happens to be here. Every Wizard and Witch has a familiar, an animal that is theirs, and Harry has found his. Usually, the familiar has to be called, in a ritual they teach in seventh year at Hogwarts."

"I see," Mrs. Granger said. "You may get an owl, Hermione, provided you listen to the experts about what you need for it."

Everyone turned to look at Harry, who didn't even notice until Hermione touched his shoulder. "Huh?"

Hermione smiled at his confused expression. "I need some help picking out an owl and everything that goes with one. Would you help me, please?"

Harry nodded. "Before we know what you'll need, we need to know what kind of an owl you're going to have," he said, reaching up to stroke his owl. "Walk around, and look at each owl, until one catches your eye. Mark that one, and look at all of them, in case there is a better owl for you." Harry looked at her. "Look with your heart, Hermione. Don't look at colours or size, just look."

Hermione frowned but started looking around. She looked at the owls outside, and then went inside. Harry followed her and the others waited, talking about Hogwarts and what the children could expect first year. Remus was just finishing a description of the houses when Harry and Hermione came back out.

Remus and Maire stared at Hermione's new owl for a minute and then looked at Harry, who held up his hands. "I swear, she picked him out. I had nothing to do with it. I just bought the accessories for him."

Hermione was straining to hold the half grown eagle owl that she had liked from the instant she saw him.

"Isn't he beautiful, Mum? I have to think of a good name for him."

Maire smirked at Harry. "Call him Wings," she suggested impishly as Harry coloured a bright red.

He glared at Maire while Hermione considered it. "No, he needs a more dignified name. Something as impressive as he is."

Harry sighed as Remus and Maire smiled in unison. "I'm not going to hear the end of this for a long time, am I?"

Remus considered it thoughtfully. "Hm, I think Sirius is going to be very sorry he missed this, and it would be terrible of me to keep your only Godfather out of the know."

Harry put a leather pad on Hermione's shoulder and tied it in place. "I don't need this, my shirt is charmed to prevent claws from poking holes in it, but if you're going to try and carry him like I am my lady, you'll need this until we get to Madame Malkin's and get you a couple of charmed outfits."

Harry was making sure the pad was right for the eagle owl and didn't notice the amused and concerned looks the adults were giving him. Hermione was too busy thinking of names and trying to hold the eagle owl to notice where Harry's hands were tying the strings that held the pad. When he was done Harry showed Hermione how to guide the owl up her shoulder.

He turned and was confronted by three smiling adults, Mrs. Granger having figured out that neither of the kids had even noticed what Harry was doing. "What?"

Remus sighed. "Of all the times not to have a camera. Harry, look at your knots."

Harry looked at Hermione. "They're fine, tight enough to hold the eagle owl." his voice trailed off as he realized where one of the knots was. "Oh Merlin." Harry was turning the brightest shade of red Remus had ever seen.

Hermione looked down and matched Harry's colour as she saw the string tied just under her breast, pushing it up some as the eagle owl's weight pulled on it and making her look a little lopsided. She hastily moved it.

The group moved on, the adults managing to keep from laughing at the two kids, who walked in silence for a block or so, until they reached Flourish and Botts. Hermione saw the books in the window and smiled, forgetting all about her embarrassment.

"I need the standard book of spells, grade one," she said, and Harry grinned "I know the list, I have one also. Let's go get them, and see what we have left to get the good books, that aren't on the list."

The eagle owl was set in his cage and left with the adults, who were telling Sirius and Mr. Granger about the morning. Harry and Hermione soon had the required books and then the real assault began as they went through every book in the shop. Some were far too difficult right now and they were set aside for another time. Hermione found a copy of 'Hogwarts, a History', and got lost in it for a minute, while Harry just rolled his eyes, until Hermione showed him something in it.

Soon, they had twenty or so books besides the regular ones and Hermione was fretting. "We're not going to have enough for all of these," she worried.

Harry smirked. "Watch this." He went over to Mr. Botts, and showed him something, while talking rapidly. Mr. Botts listened to Harry for a few minutes and nodded.

Harry came back and handed Hermione her share of the books. "Done."

Everyone looked at Harry, who was smirking as he watched them. Sirius sighed heavily. "I know that smirk, don't you, Remus?"

Remus nodded, watching Harry. "That is Harry's "I've done something brilliant" look, and it means he's just waiting for someone to ask how he got all those free books."

Harry smiled wider and shrugged. "That's OK, if you don't want to know." He started putting his books away. As he did, he handed Hermione a small book. "Here, Hermione, you should read this one also."

Hermione looked at it and read the title. "'Your Owl and Its Life, A Guide to Proper Care', by H J Potter." She looked up at Harry. "Hey, is this Potter related to you?"

Harry grinned, even as he blushed. "You could say that," he told Hermione. "In fact, you could say he's my closest living relative."

Remus looked at the book. "This is what you were doing the last time I came here, and you came with me."

Harry nodded abashedly. "I had so many of the family asking about owl tips, that it was easier to put it in a scroll, and then someone suggested the book, and Mr. Botts was willing to do it, so there it is. I don't know if it's selling because it's good, or because it has my name on it, but either way, it paid for my books, and will continue to for awhile, unless I get really carried away."

Blaise, Daphne and the three adults looked at each other and burst out laughing. "Harry, get carried away?" Remus asked in mock astonishment.

"That could never happen," Sirius said, smiling at Harry. "He'd have to stand still long enough for something to carry him away."

Hermione was looking at Harry. "You wrote this?"

Harry nodded, still glowering at the adults. Hermione smiled. "I've always wanted to do this." She handed Harry a pen and the book. "Would you sign it, please?"

Harry blinked and smiled. This was the first time he'd ever been asked to sign something because he'd done it, rather than because he was the Boy Who Lived. "It would be my pleasure," he said and signed it.

Harry and Hermione spent a lot of time discussing the Potion supplies and the other things they needed and generally having a great deal of fun.

That is, until they came to their last stop. Ollivander's shop was the only place to get wands. They went inside and Blaise soon had an oak and dragon heart string wand. Daphne followed, and she became the owner of a Willow and unicorn hair wand.

Hermione was next, and her second wand was a vine wood and Dragon heart string wand. Hermione had to be restrained from pulling out the 'Standard Book of Spells' and trying a few right there. While the adults explained the restrictions on underage magic to the Grangers, it was Harry's turn.

Harry stepped up and Mr. Ollivander looked at him. "Harry Potter. I thought I'd be seeing you soon." He looked at Harry's hand and up at Harry. "Been using a wand already, have you? What gave you the best results?"

Harry reached up to stroke his owl, a gesture Mr. Ollivander noted. "Two gave me decent results, Sir. A yew wood one, with a dragon heart string, and a cedar wand with a Thestral feather."

Mr. Ollivander frowned. "That wasn't one of mine, it sounds more like Gregor's work."

He looked at Harry for a minute, appraising the young boy and his owl. "Curse marked, with a familiar, and fairly powerful in the wandless arts. You're going to need something special, boy."

Mr. Ollivander shook his head. "Something special indeed. I wonder." He stepped into the back of the store and Harry looked at Sirius.

"He was like that when I got my wand, Harry, it's just Ollivander." Remus and Maire agreed and Harry relaxed somewhat. The old man was creepy as hell, though.

Mr. Ollivander came back with a dusty old box and held it up. "Rosewood and Phoenix feather. Give it a wave, lad."

Harry took the wand and didn't have to wave it. It just felt right, sending a bolt of warmth up his arm and making his fingers tingle. He gave it a small wave anyway, and sparks came from the tip, sparks the golden hue of a fresh minted Galleon.

Ollivander smiled, a strange, fey smile. "I remember every wand I ever made, Mr. Potter, and you have to know something about that wand. It has a brother wand out there somewhere, a yew wood and Phoenix feather wand that I sold to a young boy in Albus Dumbledore's care in 1937, or maybe 1938. He gave you that scar you bear now."

Harry looked at the old man. "Does that mean I could use his wand?"

"Quite likely, lad, you could. Of course, he could use yours as well. That is a two way street."

Harry nodded. "You're going to do great things with that wand, lad, great things. Voldemort did great things with his, Dark things, true enough, but great."

Harry and the Wizards were quiet as they left Ollivander's, and it took a visit to the ice cream shop to cheer them up. They sat and chatted over ice cream as they watched Harry and Hermione argue over who was taking which of the books they had bought home.

Eventually, the day ended and they said goodbye to the Grangers at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry gave Hermione an address to write to, so she could exercise her eagle owl, and Hermione promised to write at least once before they met for the train ride to Hogwarts.

Hermione actually wrote three times during those days, letters that had questions and more questions about magic and wizard ways in them.

_**OoOoOoO Harry, Blaise, Draco, Daphne and Hermione, The Sorting, 01SEP1991. OoOoOoO**_

Finally, The Day arrived, and Harry spent an hour hunting down things for Blaise, who was not at all ready. Harry made a mental note to remember this, and make sure he was ready next year.

They made it to the station finding Platform 93/4 easily enough, and Hermione and her parents were standing there, looking puzzled.

"Hermione," Harry called happily. Hermione saw him and waved.

The Wizards told the Grangers how to go through the wall, and soon they were all on the other side of the wall, staring at the train.

Saying goodbye to everyone took Harry a few minutes, as Remus, Sirius, Maire, Donnetta and Marigold had all come to see them off, and they all had to hug or kiss Harry, who was squirming under all the attention.

Finally, everyone that was going to Hogwarts was on the train and in a compartment. Hermione rounded on Harry. "You might have mentioned that you were mildly famous. I nearly screamed when I realized the Boy Who Lived was my pen pal."

Harry winced. "I really don't like that title, if you don't mind. I lived because my mother was brilliant and my father strong enough to cast a spell that saved me, at the cost of their lives."

Hermione grew round eyed and put her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't think of that."

The moment passed, and the five of them sat and talked. Blaise and Daphne were chatting with Draco while Harry and Hermione argued about something obscure in 'Hogwarts, A History'.

The door opened and Neville Longbottom came in. "Hello, Harry. Blaise, Daphne, Draco."

Neville Longbottom and his parents were friends, and Harry grinned as he introduced Hermione. "Neville, how have you been?"

"Good, I've been working in the greenhouse, and it is quite fascinating, the things you can grow."

Neville was a stocky boy, who might have gone to fat, if his parents hadn't been there to make sure he did something besides putter around the greenhouse. He was a decent Beater in Quidditch and as good with plants as Harry was with flying creatures.

A few minutes later, the door opened again and a red-haired boy stuck his head in the car. "You mind if I sit in here? The rest of the cars are full."

Harry, Hermione and Neville made room and he sat down and stuck his hand out. "Hello, I'm Ron Weasley."

Harry made the introductions and Ron looked at him. "I've got to thank you and your Godfather for catching Mordred, Harry. It made a big difference to our family."

Arthur Weasley had never given Albus Dumbledore anything that he couldn't get through gossip, and he was still accounted the most honest man in the Ministry. He had a new job since the Mordred report came out though. His Muggle obsession had finally paid off, as he was the only real choice to head the new Muggle Investigation Office.

His office was tasked with defining and cataloguing the Muggles' capabilities and things, and Arthur loved his work. With the new job had come more responsibility and more pay, and the Weasley were no longer as poor. They might never have the money Harry or Sirius did, but they could live respectively.

Harry waved the thanks aside. He hadn't done anything then after all.

The door opened then, and a boy looked into the compartment. Harry looked at him and ran through the family characteristics in his head. All of the Pureblood families had a certain characteristic that marked them, it was part of being a Wizard. Some, like the pale skin and blondness of the Malfoys or the red hair of the Weasleys, were easy to see, and others were harder, but every family had one, and this boy had the look of a Nott.

He looked at the people in the compartment and focused on Draco. "What are you doing with these," he hesitated, sneering, "people? You belong with your own kind."

Draco looked at him for a long minute. "When the Lestranges killed my mother, your father refused to take me in. They didn't. I would say that makes them my kind of people."

Harry's respect for Draco went up a notch. Now, if only he really meant that, and wasn't just saying it because there were so many people here that would say something to the people that had taken Draco in.

The boy glared at Draco for a minute and looked at Harry. "Oh, look. It's the Boy Who Lived. How's the family, Potter?"

Harry looked at Blaise and Daphne seriously. "How are you two?" he asked, "Not getting sick from the stench of rampant bigotry that just came in, are you?"

Blaise and Daphne grinned at Harry. "It is just a bit overwhelming," Daphne said, holding her hand over her mouth, and not trying to hide her smile.

Harry smirked at the boy, who should be Theo Nott, if Harry remembered his families correctly. "They seem to being accosted by something disturbing, which I think will go away soon."

Harry looked at his owl, whom he had named Hedwig and she woke up. Harry smiled as she craned her neck to look down at the boy under her. Hedwig used her beak to open the cage door, which had no lock on it and perch on the edge of the cage.

A few seconds later, Nott was hit in the head with something, and he reached up to see what it was. His hand came back with a smeary white goo he had no problem identifying as owl poo. He looked up just in time to get a second load in the forehead.

He swore and started to pull his wand. Hermione saw Harry pulling his wand and pushed her book bag over the edge of the seat. It landed on Nott's foot with a loud thump.

Hermione's book bag was not light, and Nott, to judge by the yelp and hopping up and down on one foot while he held the other, was not happy about it falling on him. "Oh dear," Hermione said earnestly, "I'm so sorry. Let me get that." She bent over to get her bag and stood up in front of Nott, her arms full of the bag. "Are you OK?" she asked. "I'm Hermione Granger, and you are?"

Nott looked at her, and Harry could almost see him going through the family characteristics. Nott pulled himself up. "I'm not talking to some Mudblood," he said, and that was as far as he got.

Harry was next to Hermione, and had Nott in a choke hold. "Listen to me," Harry said in a cold voice he'd learned from Sirius, "you have two options here. You can apologize to Hermione, right now, or I can choke you until you pass out, and then do things to you."

The other people in the compartment stared at Harry. He'd moved so fast that no one was certain they'd actually seen him move.

Nott struggled for a second, trying to bring his wand up, but Ron Weasley grabbed it and tossed it on the floor of the compartment. "Oops," he said, sitting back and watching the show, "clumsy me."

Nott struggled a bit more, but Harry began tightening his hold and Nott quit. "I apologize," he said, sounding as if someone had dragged the words out of him with pliers.

Harry let him go, and Nott glared at Harry. "You'll pay for that, Potter."

Harry studied the boy for an instant. "Maybe I will," he said quietly, "but you might want to simply leave my friends alone, Nott. I have this barely controlled urge to see if I could choke you out and throw you out the window. I think I could arrange it so that I got away with it. After all, nobody in this compartment will say anything, will you?"

The people in the compartment looked at each other. Blaise yawned. "If you're going to make someone disappear again, Harry, do it and let's get our stories straight. I want to take a nap."

Harry turned back to Nott. "You see? You're a minor annoyance in life, Nott, not even as important as a bit of sleep. Now, would you like to walk away, or go out the window?" Harry stared at him, watching the boy with an unblinking stare he'd learned from watching the birds.

Nott left after a final glare at Harry. "You haven't heard the last of this, Potter."

Harry went back to his seat and sat down. "I'm sure I haven't," he said. "The Pureblood are nothing if not stubborn." He looked at the others. "Ron, Hermione, thank you for backing me up."

Ron Weasley shrugged. "That sort gives us all a bad name, eh?"

Hermione was frowning. "I hope we don't get into trouble," she fretted.

Harry sighed. "Don't worry about it, Hermione. Nott's not going to admit he was manhandled, and nobody here is going to say anything either."

The rest of the ride was quiet, until it came time to get their school robes on, and half the people had to wait in the hall, as their wasn't enough room for everyone to get them on at once.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Daphne were in the hall and two more Weasleys came up. Taller than Ron, they began teasing him about something he'd done over the summer.

Harry saw Ron flushing and tapped one of them on the shoulder. The boy looked at him, and his eyes did that little slide, up to Harry's forehead, that was so familiar to Harry. "Mr Potter, what can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering about something. The word coming back from the school is that you two are the best Pranksters in the school currently."

The twins smirked. "Well, we should"

"be modest here"

"but why bother?"

They both finished together, "Yes, we are."

Harry smiled at them and they looked at each other. "I've seen that look, Fred," one said.

"So have I, but you're Fred today."

"It's usually on your face, George."

"So it is, or on yours."

They turned back to Harry. He smiled at them again. "I just wanted to know who's going to be blamed for a bit of mayhem later tonight."

Fred and George looked at each other. "Crafty bugger, isn't he? Starting early, and using the older, wiser heads to deflect the heat."

"It brings a tear of joy to me eye, Fred."

Harry smirked and looked around. "Now that the introductions are out of the way, perhaps you two could help me with a little something."

The three of them took so long in the hall, that Harry had to rush into his robes.

_**OoOoOoO Harry and the First Years, Hogwarts. 01SEP1991. OoOoOoO**_

The trip across the lake had been uneventful, with Harry, Hermione, Daphne and Blaise sharing a boat, while Ron, Neville, Draco and a girl they didn't know were in the boat behind them.

The first years were met by assistant Headmaster Flitwick, still the Charms Professor and the head of Ravenclaw. "Greetings, students. Welcome to Hogwarts."

He went on to tell them about the houses, and the points system until a barely heard chime sounded and he led them all inside the Great Hall.

Harry glanced at the ceiling, but his attention was on the crowd of students. He recognized many of them by their family traits, and a few by sight. Harry listened to the Hat sing the annual song, but nothing about the song seemed to be terribly important, so he went back to surveying the crowd.

Abbott, Hannah was the first name called, and Harry listened to the Sorting with half an ear, waiting for the important names. "Granger, Hermione" was called and Hermione nearly ran to the stool and the Sorting Hat was lowered on her head. Harry watched Hermione's face. Surprise, interest confusion and then determination crossed her face, and then the Hat spoke aloud. "Gryffindor!."

Harry frowned. He'd have sworn that she would have gone to Ravenclaw. He forgot about that when the next name was called. "Greengrass, Daphne." Daphne stepped up to the stool and sat down. She wasn't under the Hat ten seconds. "Hufflepuff!"

Harry smiled. Daphne was a nice girl,and she'd do well there. The next name Harry was interested in was "Malfoy, Draco." Harry listened to the murmurs and silently seethed. They didn't even know Draco. Harry was really hoping Draco didn't go to Slytherin. The other Purebloods would give him hell, or he'd revert back to the git he'd been when he came to them.

"Ravenclaw!" was the Sorting Hat's verdict and Harry smiled again. This Sorting was going well for the people Harry cared about.

Theo Nott went to Slytherin,and Harry was not surprised. Longbottom, Neville went to Gryffindor, and then Pansy Parkinson, a girl Harry knew fairly well from a few meetings among the Pureblood families went to Slytherin.

Twin Patils went to Gryffindor and Slytherin, making Harry snicker about good twin, bad twin scenarios, and then "Potter, Harry."was called and it was his turn. He walked to the stool and sat down.

"_Hm,"_ said the Sorting Hat, but before it got any further, Harry asked it a question.

"Is there any way to get you to tell them that I have to be in every house, or to give me my own house?"

The Sorting Hat was actually silent for a second. _"In a thousand years, you're the first to ask me to help them prank the school. I would like to help, just to watch people's faces, but the magic that infuses me wouldn't allow it."_

Harry sighed. "Oh well, it was just a thought."

"_Thank you for asking though, I'll have something to think about this year, besides a new song."_ The Hat sounded almost cheerful. _"Now, as to what House you should go to. An excellent mind, and a true love of learning for learning's sake, you would do well in Ravenclaw, but the loyalty of Hufflepuff suffuses your being. Brave enough, and quite the little plotter. You could be in any house, and as a gift, for asking me to help you, I will allow you to pick your house."_

Harry frowned as he thought about it, never hearing the murmurs at how long it was taking to Sort him. Ravenclaw would be nice, simply to have intelligent conversation and very smart people to help him do some things he'd been planning, but Daphne was Hufflepuff, and it would be nice to be with her. Slytherin wasn't really Harry's thing, and at least one person there would be trying to make his life miserable. "I think I would like to be a Gryffindor."

Harry had several reasons for choosing Gryffindor. First, many of the adult he knew and respected, Moony, Sirius and both of his parents had been in that house. His second reason was more calculating but no less real. The Wizard world would be watching him, just because he was the 'Boy-Who-Lived', and Gryffindor was the house with the best reputation. It would be a good thing later, as he moved into adulthood and the old money families. Plus, Hermione had gone there, and of all the people being sorted tonight, she would need someone to help her the most, because of her Muggleborn background.

The Sorting Hat asked, _"are you sure, Mr. Potter? This choice is a one time thing."_

Harry nodded. "Yes."

The Hat called out, "Gryffindor!"aloud and said, _"good luck"_ in Harry's head. He set the Sorting Hat down and went to the Gryffindor table and sat next to Hermione. The Weasley twins grinned at him and winked, letting him know that their part of the night's activities was on track. Harry smiled and hoped the last part of his plan, laid nearly a month ago with Sirius's help was ready as well.

Ron Weasley came to Gryffindor, which didn't surprise anyone who knew the Weasleys, and then came the last name Harry was interested in. "Zabini, Blaise."

Harry watched as the last person to be sorted sat down and the Sorting Hat was placed on his head. A few seconds later, Blaise was a Hufflepuff, and just for a second, Harry was sorry he hadn't chosen to go with Daphne.

The moment passed, and Harry watched as Headmistress McGonagall stood. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts." The Headmistress smiled faintly, which surprised Harry after hearing all of Sirius' stories about the stern woman.

"Welcome back to the returning students, and as they know, it is time for a few announcements. First, the Forbidden Forest is just that, Forbidden. Some of you seem to feel that restriction doesn't apply to you, and I must stress that it applies to everyone equally." She looked at Fred and George as she made that announcement. "Magic is not allowed in the corridors between classes and this year, the third floor corridor in the north tower is off-limits. There is a private project going on there, which may have some side effects on people entering the corridor without the proper protections. I assume none of you want to turned into cabbages, so I stress the need to avoid the area."

Headmistress McGonagall sat down at the staff table,and as she sat, the food appeared on all the tables. The students dug in and Harry ate for a few minutes before turning to Hermione. They discussed the classes they would have and made guesses at which classes they would have first.

When the Headmistress asked the Prefects to take the first years upstairs, Harry was ready. He'd seen Fred and George get up and hurry out as soon as the feast was over, and he was certain they were going to their places.

The older Weasley boy, the only one attending Hogwarts that Harry hadn't met yet, started toward Gryffindor tower, talking the entire time. They were going up the first floor stairs when Harry saw one of the Weasley twins in place. Looking up the staircases, he could see the other one.

As they reached the second floor, a loud explosion rocked the halls, and several more appeared to be going off somewhere above them, in the vicinity of the third floor. The two prefects looked at each other and talked for a minute. "All of you stay here, we'll investigate the disturbance and come back. Don't run off, and don't get lost."

The two prefects left, and Neville turned to Harry. "What do?" Neville stopped as he stared in surprise.

Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were gone.

_**OoOoOoO The Author, Here and Now. OoOoOoO**_

_When I started this story, it was going to be a fairly normal Manipulating Dumbledore story. As you may be able to tell... it didn't stay that way. With Harry growing up in a normal home, learning about magic and Wizards from the beginning, in a house full of people that will teach him almost anything he wants to know, Voldemort just doesn't seem to be dangerous enough._

_My Mordred, on the other hand, is not foolish enough to give anyone an open target. Like the terrorists of today, he strikes from hiding, using stealth and guile to destroy his targets. How will Harry fight an enemy he can't even find?_

_A chapter of PoE is next, and then MM&WS._

_Raven_


	6. Starting Off on the Right Foot

_Here we go with first year. Harry knows a great deal about Hogwarts and the things that have gone on there, and he has decided to carry on in his father's footsteps. When we're done catching up with Harry, stick around and check the notes out. For those of you that have forgotten what was going on, Harry had conspired with Fred and George to cause a ruckus while the first years were being escorted to the Common Room. When the Prefects went to check on the mayhem, Harry and Hermione disappeared._

_Dates: 01SEP91, for the purposes of this story was a Sunday, with classes starting on 02SEP91, a Monday. (Yes, I know those were not the actual days, but I like order, and this is an AU, where those might have been the actual days. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)_

_Disclaimer: If you think I own Harry Potter, related likenesses, names or anything created by JKR after she's done seven books, then you're not going to listen to this disclaimer either, so I won't bother writing one._

_**Harry Potter and the Bonds of Blood**_

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Starting Off On The Right Foot**_

_Dedication: This chapter is for JKR, who created such a wonderful place for us to play. Thank you for everything, from Accio to Zabini._

_**OoOoOoO Harry and Hermione, Hogwarts, 01SEP91. OoOoOoO**_

Harry had not wasted any time. As soon as the Prefects had turned away, he was turning toward the corridor they had stopped next to. He stopped once inside the hallway and drew his father's Invisibility Cloak from under his robes. He had barely gotten it on when a figure rushed around the corner. "Harry?" Hermione Granger had seen Harry leave and her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She went after him, but he had disappeared. She started down the hall, calling his name.

She hadn't gone four feet before she bumped into something she couldn't see, a something that promptly put a hand over her mouth. "Quiet," it hissed at her, and her instinctive struggles stilled as she recognized Harry's voice.

He moved around, and suddenly Hermione could see Harry, who appeared to be holding a cloth of some sort over them. He was frowning at her. "Hurry up. If you're going to come along, we have to go."

Harry started down the hall and Hermione went along with him. Her curiosity level was rising with every second that passed. "What are you doing, Harry? We could get in such trouble for this," she fretted.

Harry stopped in front of a door and slowly eased it open. Hermione spotted a list on the wall and starting reading it. "Harry, this is that caretaker's office. Why are you breaking into it?"

Harry was examining the room, and he pulled Hermione into it before answering. "When my father was at school here, Filch confiscated two very important things from him, and I want them back." Harry pulled his wand and pointed it in the corner. "_Accio_ Watchful Ward."

The cabinet in the corner shook for a second as the top drawer tried to open. Harry crossed over to it and unlatched it. As he did, a small glass ball fell back from the top of the things stuffed in the drawer. Harry grabbed it and looked at it. He tapped it with his wand and said, "In pursuit of knowledge."

Hermione didn't see any difference, but Harry smiled and let go of the ball. It moved to a point just behind his left shoulder and hovered there. Harry pointed his wand at the cabinet again and said "Accio Marauder's Map." Nothing happened and Harry frowned. He tried again and when his spell failed again, he said something Hermione didn't catch. She assumed it wasn't very nice from the tone.

He came back to Hermione and held the Cloak up again. "Come on. I'll have to look for the map later. We're running out of time here."

The two of them left, covered by the Invisibility Cloak, hurrying back to where the rest of the first years waited for the Prefects to return. Harry stopped just before the main hallway and tucked his cloak away. Reaching up, he grabbed the hovering ball and tapped it with his wand. "Eureka."

He stuck the ball away and walked around the corner. Ron and Neville were watching for them and came over as soon as they spotted the missing duo. "Where did you go?" asked Neville.

Harry grinned. "I was looking for a couple of things that my dad accidentally left behind. Well, not accidentally, but because Filch confiscated them, and since he didn't know what they did, Filch kept them in case they were Dark or otherwise dangerous"

The conversation was interrupted as the Prefects came back and started the group moving again. Harry and the others, being in the back of the group, couldn't hear what the Prefects were talking about, but they assumed it had something to do with the disturbance.

The Prefects led them to the portrait of the Fat Lady and gave the password. "Victory."

Harry blinked and frowned as he walked into the Gryffindor common room. "I must have missed it. Who is the Gryffindor House head?"

"I am, Mr. Potter." Harry turned and started to smile, until he saw the expression on Mad-Eye Moody's face. "I'll be needing to talk to you, Mr. Potter, before breakfast tomorrow. I have this feeling," Mad Eye paused for a second as his magic eye whirled in its socket. "I have this feeling I'll need to lay some special ground rules down for you."

Harry sighed. He'd known Moody forever, but it seemed that things would be different while he was at school. "Yes, Professor."

Mad Eye Moody looked around at the gathered first year students. "Hogwarts is a school. I expect you to study and learn your lessons," he said, looking at the students and paying particular attention to the ones standing near Harry. "As such, you should not be getting into too much trouble. However, should some sort of difficulty arise, say with the members of another House, I expect you to deal with it in a properly Gryffindor manner."

Before he could elaborate on that, Fred and George came in the portrait hole. "Ah, Mr. and Mr. Weasley. How... unexpected, to find you sneaking in this late." The sarcasm in that statement was thick enough to use as a Beater's bat. "Why don't you see me tomorrow night after dinner, and we'll find out just what you were doing."

Fred and George looked at each other, and back at Moody. "Yes, Professor."

Moody looked around. "I suggest you all get some sleep. You'll be needing it tomorrow." He turned and went out the door.

The prefects starting shooing the first years up the stairs, and Fred stopped Harry. "Would you mind telling me why we're serving a detention with our House Head tomorrow?"

Harry smiled. "Because you got caught?" he said innocently. He grinned and pretended to fend off the glares they were both giving him. "I was attempting to retrieve a couple of things that were confiscated from my father while he was a student here."

Fred and George looked at each other. "What sort of things?"

Harry pulled out the little ball. "My mother made this, and from the stories that Remus and Sirius tell, she was very angry when it was taken by Filch."

Hermione, Neville and Ron had stayed behind with Harry, and everyone stared at the small globe. It was about six centimetres across and made of what appeared to be dark blue glass. Under the glass, smoke swirled endlessly with a very dim radiance coming from the ball.

"What is it?" asked one of the twins.

"It's a Watchful Ward, or at least that's what Sirius said Mum called it. It helped her sneak around at night and raid the more interesting parts of the library."

"Well, what's it do?" The other twin had spoken this time.

"Several things, actually. If you hold it in your hand and tap it with your wand while saying the right phrase, it will hover over your shoulder and light up a three meter circle around you. More than one person can use it as well, as long as they stay fairly close to each other."

Fred and George looked at each other. "A portable light source is nice, but there are people and things that would notice it moving around the castle at night."

Harry smiled. "That's where Mum's genius comes in. The only people that can see this light are the ones that were touching the Ward when it was activated."

Fred and George smiled. "Well lit wanderings at night, and no looking for a place to read anything you might run across in those travels. That is a dead useful item, Mr. Potter. You will allow us to borrow it on occasion, won't you?"

Harry frowned. "If you get it confiscated again," he warned them, "I'll be very upset."

Hermione was frowning. "Harry, you said it did several things and given the phrase you used to activate it, I assume there has to be something more."

Harry sighed. He'd hoped no one would notice that, but Hermione was far too quick to miss something like that. "This goes no further than us, you understand?" he asked, looking at every one of the others. They nodded and Harry lowered his voice a bit more. "Holding the Ward and saying another phrase causes it to do two more things. One, it allows you to circumvent the protections around the Restricted Section of the library and second, it will alert you if anyone comes within ten meters."

"You say your Mum made this while she was in school here?" one of the twins said, looking at the ball with respect. "She must have been a brilliant woman." He looked at Harry. "Now, show us the other thing you were after. You said there were two things."

Harry frowned but Hermione beat him to it. "Harry didn't get the other thing. The Marauder's Map, whatever that is, didn't respond to his summoning spell."

Fred and George looked at each other again, and then at Harry. "Mr. Potter, do you know who the Marauders were?"

Harry looked up at them and noted the intense anticipation in their faces. "Of course. My father was one of them."

Fred and George nearly started dancing on the spot. Fred looked at Harry. "Who were the others? Are they still alive? Can you introduce us?"

Harry interrupted the stream of questions. "You have the Map, don't you?"

George nodded and pulled a beat up Parchment from his robes. Harry took it and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

The other first years watched as the lines and corridors of the castle blossomed on the Map. They watched as Professor Vector paced around the halls. She seemed to have the patrol duty tonight.

Harry brought the Map to the Gryffindor Common Room and they saw the small knot of figures standing there. Hermione was fascinated. "How does it know who I am? How does it distinguish between the people?"

Everyone was looking at the Map. "I don't know," Harry admitted. "It was the combined work of several months by all of the Marauders."

He looked at the twins. "You will allow me to use this, won't you? If, that is, you want to use the Watchful Ward."

Fred looked at his twin and unspoken words seemed to pass between them. "Of course. We'll also want an introduction to the rest of the Marauders."

Hermione smiled at them. "Honestly. Figuring out who they are should be simple for anyone."

Harry looked at her, as did everyone else. "How should it be simple?" asked Ron in confusion.

"Read a book," was all Hermione would say, smug in her knowledge. Harry sighed. Hermione might be smarter than most, but she had a serious attitude. No one really liked a Know It All.

"Lemos Veritaseek wrote a book called the 'Fall of Mordred'," Harry said. "If you read it, figuring out who the Marauders were is fairly easy if you know that James Potter was one of them."

Fred and George frowned. "I would assume that his closest friends..." George trailed off. "Sirius Black and Remus Lupin," he said reverently. "You live with them."

"Padfoot and Moony," Harry agreed with a smirk. "My father was Prongs." He glared at something unseen for a second. "I will not talk about Wormtail. He has been removed from the ranks of the Marauders."

Percy Weasley came back down the stairs. "You first years should be in bed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day." He looked at Fred and George. "I hope you are not corrupting the new Gryffindors. I would hate to have to give you the first point loss of the year."

Harry and the others were already heading upstairs and missed what the twins said.

Upstairs, Harry looked around the room he would be sharing with the other first year boys. There were two more boys besides Ron and Neville, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. The five boys made introductions all around as they were getting ready for bed. Harry was careful to open only the left hand lock on his trunk first, and then the middle lock, leaving the right hand lock for last. Harry's trunk wasn't as nice as some, but it still had three full compartments depending on which lock was opened first. Opening the left hand lock first, followed by the main lock and then the right hand lock opened the compartment where Harry had put all of the school things he was supposed to have, and the things he didn't mind anyone knowing he had.

Opening the locks right, left and then the middle opened the compartment with all the things he'd brought to pull pranks with, based on Sirius and Remus' suggestions, as well as a few things Maire had suggested when the other two were not around.

Opening the main lock first, followed by the right and then the left hand lock, led to another space where Harry had only stored a couple of things right now. His father's Invisibility Cloak would go here, along with the Watchful Ward his mother had made. Also in this space were the Potter histories and other books from the Potter vault. The monthly statements from Gringotts, which Remus took care of right now, would go here as well.

Opening the locks in any other order caused several spell effects to go off. It had taken Sirius and Maire a week to enchant the locks and they had tested it on Remus, since his curse kept him from most harm. It had taken an hour to revive him, but as they had planned, he hadn't taken any serious damage. The glowing blue colour had taken twice as long as they had planned to go away though.

Harry sighed as he remembered that the next statement from Gringotts was due in a couple of days. Remus had started making Harry read the statements six months ago. In just a few years, Harry would be responsible for the Potter fortune and learning how to run a business was not something you did in a week. Sirius was supposed to be the one to watch over the estate, but he deferred to Remus, as Sirius' idea of estate management was rather basic. Sirius was the type of person that figured that as long as he still had money, the estate was fine.

Harry yawned as he crawled into his bed and set his alarm. A magical clock, the alarm was a modified tickling spell that would shake the shoulders of the person in the bed until the clock was tapped with a wand.

Harry grinned and looked at the others getting ready for bed, or in a couple of cases, already in bed. He went to his trunk and opened it again. He pulled a second clock out, that looked just like his except for a single scratch on the back. He set it for ten minutes after his clock would wake him and placed it at the foot of a bed on the way to the bathroom. None of his room mates noticed and Harry went to sleep, happily anticipating the commotion tomorrow morning.

_**OoOoOoO Harry, Hogwarts, 02SEP91. OoOoOoO**_

Harry woke the next morning to the gentle shaking of his alarm. He was about to get up and slide out of bed when he realized that he had a problem. He couldn't practice changing shape in here. One of his room mates might wake up and see him doing it, which would give his secret away.

For this morning, he simply drew the curtains around his bed and changed several times. He regretted not being able to go flying, but he'd find time later. He cut his practice short and opened the curtains again. Harry sat on the floor at the end of his bed, preparing for his meditations. He was in the middle of his Occlumency when the other alarm clock went off.

Harry's clock had a modified tickling charm on it. This clock (a "gift" from Sirius,) had a normal tickling charm on it. It also had a second charm, that made your pillow act like a Bludger.

Ron shot straight up in bed as the Tickling charm attacked his ribs and feet, only to get his own pillow in the back of the head. Ron was flailing and squirming, fighting to escape the fingers he thought he felt. "Stop! Get off me!"

The other boys woke up and stared at Ron. Harry was sitting quietly at the foot of his bed, doing something, and Ron was acting as if a dozen angry hornets were after him. It wasn't until the pillow jumped up and smacked Ron in the head again that they figured out what was going on.

Harry was just finishing his Occlumency exercises when Ron fell out of the bed with a loud thump and landed in front of Harry. Harry watched as Ron's pillow caught him in the face this time and shook his head. "You're just not a morning person, are you?"

One of the Weasley twins stuck his head in the door. "Hey, Harry, Professor Moody wants to see you now and I'm supposed to escort you."

The tickling charm had ended and Ron was on his feet now, using a textbook to fend off his pillow. The twin in the doorway watched with amusement as Ron missed and the pillow smacked him in the head again. By then, Ron was glaring at his pillow and saying some things that Molly Weasley would have washed his mouth out for.

Harry reached down and tapped the alarm clock with his wand and the pillow fell to the floor. "As fun as this is," Harry said, "I have to go and I'd hate to have someone step on the clock by accident."

Ron glared at him. "We're going to talk about this, Potter. I like my sleep."

The twin in the door sniggered. "Somehow, I think having Mr. Potter around will be fun."

_**OoOoOoO Mordred le Fay, Hogwarts. 02SEP91. OoOoOoO**_

Mordred rose before his room mates and swiftly got dressed. He'd thought that Harry would be in the house Mordred was in, based on his research into Mr. Potter. When Harry had gone to another house, Mordred had been upset. It was only later that he realized it wasn't as bad as it seemed. He was in the same year, and a few gentle manipulations would allow the people from different houses to meet for different things. He reached into his trunk and pulled out the small book he'd bought in Diagon Alley.

Potter thought he was an author, and to be honest, the book wasn't bad. A little simple, and far more concerned with the owl's emotions and treatment than most, but the underlying intelligence was there and time would give Potter the vocabulary to go with his aspirations.

Since he couldn't start working on Potter right away, Mordred sat on his bed and started using Legilimency on his room mates. He read them quickly, looking for any use he might have for them. He reached the third boy in the room and started on him.

He stopped suddenly as the boy stirred and woke up. Mordred pretended to be engrossed in something in his trunk as the boy looked around and shook his head. Mordred was intrigued by this turn of events. What was this boy hiding, that he was an Occlumens? Was it something he could use? Mordred pushed that away and read the last boy in the room. He shrugged when he found that the rest of his room mates were ordinary students, with nothing he could use right now.

_**OoOoOoO Mad Eye Moody and Harry, Hogwarts, 02SEP91. OoOoOoO**_

"Mr. Potter, we're going to lay down a few rules you will not break while you're here, do we understand each other?"

Harry frowned as he watched Moody. "I've been Harry to you for as long as I can remember. What changed?"

Mad-Eye grinned at him. "And when we see each other during the summer, you'll be Harry again, but I cannot show any sign of favouritism here at Hogwarts, so you'll be addressed the same as everyone else."

Harry nodded. "So what are these rules, and why am I lucky enough to get extra rules?"

Mad-Eye sobered. "You will not leave the Hogwarts grounds this year, Harry. Remus and Sirius wanted to tell you about this last week, but it was decided to let you enjoy your last week before school. Professor Quirrell had a narrow escape in Albania. Pettigrew and Voldemort nearly trapped him and did something to him. He thought they were trying to possess him, or something like that. He only escaped with a blind Apparation."

Harry absorbed what Moody had said and the DADA Professor rose in Harry's regard. A blind Apparation was untraceable, since not even the person doing it was certain where he would end up. You imagined a dark space, like a closed closet or similar thing and jumped to that image. Most of the time, the person trying it was simply splinched, but sometimes you could get lucky. "How badly was he splinched?" Harry asked curiously, trying to set aside the thought of Voldemort for a minute.

""He lost two toes on his right foot, all the bones in his left leg and all his fingernails." Moody watched Harry as he thought.

Harry sighed. "I won't leave the school grounds without informing you first this year."

"In person, Mr. Potter. I don't want to find a note after you've already gone."

Harry put on an innocent face. "Would I do that?" he asked with a grin.

Professor Moody stared at him, and then looked pointedly at the clock "You've got to get to class, or I'd list all the times that you Slytherined your way out of a rule," Moody said.

Harry sighed. "Anything else?" he questioned Moody. "I assume that's not the only restriction you want to put on me."

Moody smiled at Harry. "Just one more thing, Mr. Potter. I know that you intend on following in your father's footsteps and pulling a prank or two. I expect that your extracurricular activities will not interfere with your school work. If it does, I will take steps. Do we understand each other?"

Harry bowed low. "Verily, Mi Lord, we hath but one mind in this affair."

Moody winced. "Get out of here, Mr. Potter. I hate the sound of the Queen's English being mangled almost as much as I do Death Eaters." Moody looked at Harry seriously. "Harry, you must be careful. Voldemort may be considered the lesser threat to the Wizard world, but to you personally, he's far more dangerous than Mordred."

Harry paused at the door. "I know that, Professor Moody. I have no intentions of allowing him to try killing me again. I'd prefer not finding if Father's charm will stop another Unforgivable."

_**OoOoOoO Harry and friends, Hogwarts, 02SEP91. OoOoOoO**_

Harry found Blaise and Daphne at the Hufflepuff table and stopped long enough to say good morning before continuing to the Gryffindor table. He slid in next to Hermione, who had a book in front of her and was reading while she ate. Ron and Neville were on the other side of the table and Ron was quickly working his way through a large plate of food.

Harry watched him for a minute while he put food on his own plate. "Is it safe to reach for the bacon?" he asked. Neville pushed the platter in Harry's direction. "I think so," he said, watching Ron. "He seems to have gotten enough on his plate for now."

Ron shrugged. "I like food."

Harry shook his head. "Obviously." He looked at Hermione and tilted the book enough to read the title. "'Hogwarts, A History'? Again? I thought you read this already."

Hermione turned the page before answering. "I did, but there's just so much information in here."

Harry was about to answer when the owl post arrived. He watched the birds flying in and caught sight of a familiar owl. He smiled and held up his arm. Hedwig landed on his arm and he had an owl treat ready for her. "Good morning, Hedwig," he said softly. "How's the owlery?"

Hedwig finished her owl treat and nibbled on Harry's ear. Harry smiled and gave her another treat. "I'll be needing you tonight. Come see me around sundown, OK?"

Hedwig hooted softly and snatched a piece of bacon from Harry's plate before flying away. Harry watched her go with a smile. Neville was frowning. "That's just bloody uncanny."

Harry shook his head. "Not really, I was just lucky enough to find my familiar earlier than most. When you call your familiar, you'll have a close connection to it as well."

The conversation was interrupted by Moody, who handed them their schedules. Harry looked at his with interest. "We've got Potions with the Slytherins first. Does anybody know anything about the Professor for Potions?"

"Her name is Professor Selena Lovegood," Ron supplied. "She's a neighbour of ours. Her daughter plays with Ginny sometimes." He looked around and lowered his voice. "Don't be too shocked when you see her. She had a bad accident with an experiment a couple of years ago, and nearly died. She's rather badly scarred."

Neville looked up. "Is that the thing they had to send the Obliviators out for?"

Ron nodded. "Yeah, they had to Obliviate nearly the whole village."

Harry frowned. Like most young boys, he had not paid a great deal of attention to any events that didn't affect him, but he vaguely remembered something about the event. "Didn't their house blow up or something?"

Ron chortled. "In a manner of speaking. It grew to be absolutely huge, bigger than the Ministry building, and it shot multicoloured flames for nearly an hour."

Harry smiled faintly. "That would be an interesting prank. Make someone grow to the size of a Troll." He considered it for a minute. "No, not interesting enough. It needs something."

Fred and George, sitting nearby, looked at each other and smiled. Harry had just given them a very amusing idea.

The group got up to go to class, and Harry started off. Hermione caught up with him. "Do you know where the Potions classroom is?"

Harry nodded. "Sirius and Remus taught me a lot about the school, although not everything since they thought I would have the Map to use when I needed it."

The rest of the Gryffindor first years followed Harry to the Potions classroom. It was down in the dungeons, where massive walls of stone reinforced the wards on the classroom. Potions was a simple class at the lower levels, but as it went along, the Potions became more volatile and therefore more dangerous.

Harry winced as he remembered his first uncontrolled experiment with Potions. A couple of weeks after Madame Morgana introduced him to Shakespeare, Harry had tried the most famous recipe for a Potion ever recorded. However, as Harry had soon learned, "Eye of Newt, Toe of Frog, Wool of Bat and Tongue of Dog" did not make any Potion that could be used. It had, however, created a large explosion that had covered the workroom and Harry in a sour smelling bright green ooze that had stained the room and Harry for almost a week. Harry was not going to mention that embarrassment here.

The Gryffindors found the Potions classroom and went in. The Slytherins were already there and Harry took a minute to look at the first year Slytherins. Theo Nott of course, and one of the twin Patils. That one had the hulking build of a Crabbe and their cousins the Goyles were represented by a large boy as well. The biggest person in the Slytherin group, though, was a girl named Millicent Bulstrode. She sat a little apart from the others, ignoring everyone to read a textbook.

Nott was talking to a girl that was one of the Parkinsons, while two more Witches chattered. Harry frowned. Tracy Davis had been over to the Greengrasses house a few times, but she hadn't been around recently. Harry looked at the Witch she was talking to and couldn't identify her. Whoever she was, she did not have any of the family characteristics that he knew. The last Slytherin was a slightly built boy with the look of a Pritchard.

The Slytherins had watched as the Gryffindors sat down and Nott smirked at them. "Oh look. It's a few Mudbloods and freaks."

"I wouldn't talk about Mudbloods if I were you, Nott." Neville was looking at him. "I believe my ancestry is a great deal longer than yours, and the Weasleys are older as well."

Harry shrugged. "I have a better reason for him to shut up. If he doesn't, I'm going to hurt him."

"I don't believe that will be needed, Mr. Potter." Everyone turned to see the Potions Professor come in. "In fact, given the dangers inherent in this class, I will insist that all of you leave your personal problems outside my classroom." The Witch moved to the front of the classroom and looked at the class. "I am Professor Lovegood."

Harry had kept his face impassive when he saw the Professor, but only barely and only because he'd been warned about her. Most of the class wasn't as prepared and gasps sounded from almost everyone. Harry had never seen any thing like the kind of scarring that covered the woman's face, dropping down past her collar to disappear into her robes. Her left hand was covered in scars and missing the last three fingers. Her right hand was just as badly scarred, but at least all the fingers were there. She looked at the class for a few minutes, examining each of them out of the single eye that remained intact.

"As you can see, Potions can be extremely hazardous. I was attempting an experimental Potion that did not work well, and my current appearance is the result. While nothing you will do in this class will be as dangerous as what I was trying, the wrong additive or stirring technique could have serious results. In the interests of making sure that none of you end up looking like me, I will take one hundred house points from any student that interferes with another student's Potion. They will also serve a week's worth of detentions with me. I always need cauldrons cleaned without magic."

She stared at the silent students for a minute and then nodded. "Good. Now, with that out of the way, let's begin the lesson. If you will open your textbook to page 44, you will see the reactivity chart. That chart shows the interactions of different potion ingredients, and the results of mixing them. As you can see, mixing Beetle eyes with fresh Wolfs bane is acceptable, unless the Monkshood has been stirred counter-clockwise. Pay attention to that chart. It just might keep you from visiting Madame Pomfrey in the future."

As they left the dungeons, Hermione was bubbling over about Potions. "That was brilliant," she said happily. "I was worried about that class, it seems so much like cooking from the descriptions in the book, and I don't cook well."

Harry smiled. "I have a friend you could correspond with who's scarily good with Potions." Harry smirked inwardly as he thought about Hermione's response if she ever figured out that 'Mrs. Abernathy' was the infamous Madame Morgana.

They were supposed to go to Care of Magical Beasts after lunch, but it seemed that there had been an incident in the NEWT level class that morning and Professor Kettleburn was in the Infirmary having something regrown or reattached, depending on who you talked to.

With a bit of free time, Harry went looking for Daphne and Blaise, but they were in DADA with Professor Quirrell. Harry went down to the library and found Hermione already there. The two of them passed a quiet hour looking for interesting books.

When they were done, they compared the books they were taking out. Harry's books had to do with the more practical side of magic, and were mostly spell books of charms, hexes, jinxes and other applied magic. Interspersed with those books were books on flying creatures of all kinds and several books on the Mental Arts.

Hermione's selections were more about theory and the more intellectual side of magic. "Magical Runes in Applied Warding" caught Harry's eye and he shook his head. He raised an eyebrow at "Growing Up in a Magical Environment" and rolled his eyes at "Dark Wizards of the Twentieth Century", but merely warned her that the section about him was complete rubbish.

The week passed quickly for the friends, and they could often be found after classes in an unused classroom with Blaise, Draco and Daphne, finishing their homework amid laughter and chatter. It took Hermione a few days to get used to the fact that not all studying had to be done in total silence and with complete concentration, but Harry had long since adopted Remus' study habits, which included many lessons learned while studying around and often despite the rest of the Marauders.

The only unusual thing to happen the entire week happened in their first flying lesson. Gryffindor and Slytherin shared the lesson and just after they had mounted their broomsticks, two of the Slytherins, Crabbe and Parkinson, caused a disturbance at the end of the row. As Madam Hooch crossed to them, Nott cast some sort of spell on Hermione's broomstick.

Before anyone else could do anything, Hermione was rocketing into the sky, completely out of control.

Harry sped after her without a thought, trying to follow the broomstick. Since it was making random changes in speed and course every few seconds, that wasn't easy. It took him nearly thirty seconds to get close enough to cast a counter curse on the broomstick.

As he cast the counter curse and the broomstick stopped its antics, he saw Ron and Neville pulling up out of the corner of his eye. He was about to check on Hermione when something bright and shiny fell from Hermione's robes. Harry dove after it, unsure of what it was but knowing that it was quite small and likely to be lost if it hit the ground.

He kept his eye on the glint of silver ahead of him, only vaguely aware that he was closing with the ground rapidly, too caught up in the chase to pay close attention. He reached out, snatching the necklace up and trying a slew turn to avoid hitting the ground. Harry turned his broomstick up, pushing it as hard as he could, attempting to gain air and change the momentum of the broomstick. He succeeded, but only barely as he felt the hem of his robes brush the ground before he started back up toward his friends.

Harry came in close to Hermione and handed her the small silver necklace. He raised an eyebrow at the small scroll hanging from it. Hermione was staring straight ahead and from the white knuckled grip she had on the broomstick, Harry wasn't sure she'd be able to let go, even after they had her on the ground. He held the chain in front of her face. "Hermione," he said gently, "I've got your necklace."

Hermione focused on the necklace. "Thank you, Harry." She didn't reach for it and Harry sighed.

"That was a very wild ride, for your first time on a broomstick,wasn't it?" he asked her quietly, and she nodded jerkily. "I would have been scared, I think, if that was my first ride, but it's over now and you have to remember two things, Hermione."

She looked at him, her curiosity warring with her fear. "What is that?"

Harry smiled. "You held on despite the broomstick being cursed, and it's over with you still up here." He waved his arm. "Forget the rest of it for a minute, Hermione, and look around you. There's the Shrieking Shack, the most haunted building in Hogsmeade. Over there is the Forbidden Forest and the Whomping Willow. I know that wasn't the best way to get up here, Hermione, but before we go back down, look at Hogwarts laid out below us."

Ron and Neville had already turned and were looking around, as none of them had ever seen Hogwarts from this viewpoint. Harry was counting on Hermione's curiosity to get the better of her. Sirius and Maire had talked Harry through some of his young fears by distracting him this way, and Harry was hoping it would work here.

Hermione looked around, looking for the things Harry had mentioned. She tensed for a second as she realized just how high up they were. She could see completely over Hogwarts, even the tallest tower. She looked for a minute, taking in the view. "This is all very nice, but can we go back down now?"

Harry was still in front of her. "You'll have to follow me down. That prat's actions meant you had your first flight without any lessons in how to control your broomstick. Just listen to me and I'll give you your first lesson, unless you want that Pureblood bigot to win."

Hermione's eyes grew fierce. "It's just another lesson. I can learn this."

Harry grinned at her. "Of course you can. Now, the first thing you have to remember is your balance."

A very short time later, Harry was coaching Hermione through her first landing. When she was on the ground, Harry handed her the necklace. He then handed his broom to Ron. "Watch this for a minute, would you?" he said and spun toward Nott. "You are a miserable squib, with the brains of a Muggle and the manners of a Goblin. I believe your House Elf mother had to have mated with a giant to get a child as ugly and stupid as you are. I claim insult from you, Nott. How do you answer?"

"Stop." Everyone but Harry turned at that firm command. Headmistress McGonagall was standing there. "I will not permit any feuds on Hogwarts' grounds. If you persist in that course, Mr. Potter, you can leave right now."

Harry's jaw clenched as Nott backed away, smirking. "As you command, Headmistress. However, I will hold that option open should he attempt to kill another of my friends. I can, after all, go to another school if I need to, but I will not allow unanswered attacks on my friends."

Before anyone could do anything, Harry's hand came out of his robes and he threw a vial at Nott. It struck the Slytherin boy and broke over his robes. A strange sharp smell rose from the wet spot for a minute and then faded away, even as the wet spot quickly dried up, leaving no trace.

"What have you done, Mr. Potter?" The Headmistress' voice was sharp and fierce.

Harry smirked at Nott, who was looking very nervous. "Mr. Nott Very Smart there will find out," Harry thought for a minute, "just about dinnertime tomorrow, unless he finds the right antidote in the next twenty minutes." Harry smirked at Nott again. "And before you ask, no, I don't have any of it here at Hogwarts."

"Mr. Potter, you will come with me. Mr. Nott, you will go see Madame Pomfrey, and then you will see me as well. The rest of you, go on about your business."

Hermione raised her hand. "Ma'am," she said, falling into Muggle habits, "Harry was only protecting me."

"That may be, Miss Granger, but his methods leave much to be desired. That is what we will be discussing."

_**OoOoOoO Harry and the Headmistress, Hogwarts, 04SEP91. OoOoOoO**_

Harry looked around the Headmistress' office curiously. He'd known that he would end up here sooner or later, if he pulled even half of the pranks he'd been planning on, but he'd never thought to be here this soon. The office was tastefully decorated in the colours of all four Houses, although Harry thought the Gryffindor colours might have been slightly more prominent. Besides her desk, there was a table of strange things, none of which Harry could readily identify and several bookshelves.

Before he could try and see the titles on those books, Professor McGonagall spoke. "You will tell me what you did to Mr. Nott."

Harry sighed. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell him, but I did nothing. The only thing in that vial was rubbing alcohol, a Muggle substance that evaporates quickly."

The Headmistress frowned at him. "So he's going to spend the next thirty-six hours trying to break a spell that isn't even there."

Harry nodded. "Exactly. I would never do anything serious to another student." Harry's face shone with innocence.

Professor McGonagall merely lifted one eyebrow a hair. "Your father wore that same expression too many times to count, Mr. Potter, and I never believed him either."

Harry sighed, his face filled with chagrin that his acting skills would not fool the headmistress.. "Would you believe I would never do anything serious to another student that could be blamed on me?"

"That is easy to believe, yes. May I ask how Miss Granger become subject to the Windenmere loyalty? I know she is not related."

"She is not, but she is my friend, and an innocent in the ways of Pureblood bigots. I will defend her as Kal'nedra."

Professor McGonagall sighed. "Refresh my memory, Mr. Potter. Define the classes of kinship as the Windenmere use them."

"Kal'nadra are those people related to you by blood. Mother, father, brothers, sisters, etc. Kal'madra are those people related by marriage, ceremony or clan lines, In-laws, cousins, etc. Kal'nedra are those people you personally have chosen as kin. Wife, husband, blood-brother, any relationship that has a deep personal meaning. This class of kin also covers close friends, which is where Miss Granger is."

The Headmistress nodded. "Where would your Godfather stand in that list?" she asked.

"Sirius is Kal'madra as my Godfather, related by a ceremony but not blood. He is also Kal'nedra, by virtue of the love we share and another bond."

"I see. May I ask how many people in my school you will jump to the defence of?" Headmistress McGonagall could see seven years of headaches ahead if this was not nipped in the bud.

Harry thought about it for a minute. "Right now, Daphne Greengrass, Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom and any member of the Windenmere Families."

The Headmistress frowned. "I applaud your loyalty, Mr. Potter, but I must stress to you that feuds will not be allowed here. I am barely getting started at erasing the House hatreds that the former Headmaster had allowed to brew for far too long. I will not have you starting them up again, or starting new ones, is that understood?"

Harry shrugged. "I will not start anything, Professor. Nor will I allow people like Nott to nearly kill my friends or family. If you can stop it, I will leave it in your capable hands. Today's events aside, I really have better things to do than fight with ignorant bigots or other morons."

"I will deal with Mr. Nott, Mr. Potter. His actions will cost him dearly. While I cannot allow you to decide his punishment, you may rest assured that he will be regretting his actions."

Harry nodded. "Then I will take no further actions over this incident." Harry was very careful not to make any promises about the next incident. He knew from experience that the Pureblood families had too much influence in many places to worry about consequences, and they raised their children in that same attitude. He really didn't believe that Nott would learn his lesson this time.

Professor McGonagall caught the absence of future promises and frowned at Harry. "Mr. Potter, if you truly wish Mr. Nott to worry about your spell, you'll have to be punished, or people will wonder how you could get away with cursing another student. Are you prepared to accept the consequences of your actions, or would you prefer me to tell him that it was a hoax?"

Harry thought about it. "I will accept your punishment, Headmistress. I may want to use that prank again."

"Very well, Mr. Potter. Ten house points will be deducted and you will serve a detention tomorrow night with Hagrid."

Harry nodded. "Yes, Professor."

"You may go, Mr. Potter. On your way out, send Mr. Nott to me. He is waiting at the gargoyle." She looked at Harry as he rose to go. "I do not need to warn you not to do anything, do I, Mr. Potter?"

Harry shook his head. "I will not touch him, nor insult him. I may avoid his touch like the plague, but that's all." He grinned. "After all, I don't want that stuff on me."

The Headmistress shot a glare at Harry. "Don't push it, Mr. Potter."

Harry opened the door and went down the circular staircase. When the gargoyle moved aside, Harry stepped out and pretended to just notice Nott waiting there. Harry jumped back, edging around Nott. "The Headmistress wants you to go on up," he said, making sure to stay as far away as possible.

Nott glared at him, but Harry could see the worry in his eyes. "What did you do to me, Potter? Madame Pomfrey couldn't identify that stuff on my robes. What's going to happen to me?"

Harry was in the hallway now and he backed away rapidly, never turning his back on Nott. "It was a gift from a friend of mine. What is does depends on your magic. You'll find out in just over thirty hours."

Nott glared at him some more, but Harry reached an intersection and sped off down the corridor as if he couldn't wait to get away from Nott.

_**OoOoOoO Harry and friends, Hogwarts, 04SEP91. OoOoOoO**_

Harry entered the Gryffindor Common Room only to be intercepted by Fred and George Weasley. "Mr. Potter, your friends are waiting for us in your study room." They pushed him back out the hole and started toward the classroom the friends from different houses used to study together.

The twins didn't say anything on the way there, but once they were in the classroom, they sat down and stared at Harry. Harry looked around at the others in the room. Draco, Blaise, Hermione, Neville, Ron and Daphne were in their favourite places and all of them were looking at Harry.

"It's time for you to spill the beans, Mr. Potter," Fred or George said eagerly. "What's going to happen to that git Nott?"

Harry pulled his wand out and sealed the charms and wards that the friends had put up to prevent people from disturbing them while they studied before he said anything. "Absolutely nothing."

Everyone stared at him, confused. Draco was the first person to get it. "You didn't do anything to him, did you? He's going to spend the entire day worrying about what's going to happen to him, and that's the whole idea, isn't it?"

Harry grinned at them. "Nothing I can do to him will match the things he will think of between now and dinner tomorrow." He grinned again. "Although you could help it along a bit, if you would."

Hermione frowned. "We're not going to get in trouble for this, will we?"

Harry shook his head, smirking. "Not at all. All we're going to do is make it a point to avoid being touched by him until dinner. If you add a few whispers, suddenly stopped when he comes nearby, by dinner he should be in a right panic without us doing anything wrong."

Hermione frowned, but nodded. "I don't have to pretend that I don't want him touching me. I do have one more question, though. What is a Mudblood?"

Harry stiffened. "It's an insult, one that can start feuds. It's a nasty way of saying your blood isn't Pure Wizard. Only the Pureblood family set any stock in it, and not all of them. Ron here has one of the longest Pureblood lines in the world, but his family would never dream of using that term. Since my mother was a Muggleborn Witch, I have a particular dislike of the term."

Hermione frowned as she thought about it. "It's a racist thing, then?"

Harry nodded savagely. "Nott's family is one of the ones that followed Voldemort. That group he hangs out with is mostly made of Death Eater families. Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott and a few more, but those are the ones we need to watch. They still haven't changed their ways, and when Voldemort returns, they'll be the dangerous ones."

Hermione shook her head. "I can't believe they dislike me because of my family."

Harry shrugged as he sat down in his chair. "Some people, according to Sirius, look at their bloodlines because they don't have anything else to brag about or be proud of. According to Maire, they do it because they have to feel superior to other people to boost their own self-image. I really don't understand that, but then, I don't understand bigotry at all."

Daphne smiled at Harry. "Of course you don't. You're a Windenmere, and we don't tolerate that sort of junk. Besides, you're too nice to treat people like that. You've also made it hard to be a stuck up prat around you. Just look at Blaise."

"Hey!" Blaise defended himself. "What about you? I seem to recall Harry not speaking to you for a week or two about something."

Draco snorted. "That's better than the dressing down he gave me when I first came to the Windenmere families."

Harry was blushing. "I didn't do that much."

"Speaking of dressing down," Fred interrupted, "the word around the common room is that you said some very rude things to Nott. It must have been bad, because most people won't even repeat them. What did you say to him?"

Harry blushed harder. "I was very angry, and I think I called him everything but a Wizard."

Hermione looked at Fred. "What he said was; 'You are a miserable squib, with the brains of a Muggle and the manners of a Goblin. I believe your House Elf mother had to have mated with a giant to get a child as ugly and stupid as you are. I claim insult from you, Nott. How do you answer?'"

The people that hadn't heard Harry's insults the first time blanched. Daphne was the first to speak. "Harry! What were you thinking? You can't start a feud with the Notts."

Harry looked at her. "I beg to differ. As the last Potter, I most certainly can start a feud. Since he attacked and could have caused injury or worse to one of my Kal'nedra, I was entirely correct in my actions."

Fred, George, Ron, Neville and Hermione looked blank while Draco, Blaise and Daphne looked at each other. Hermione frowned at Harry. "Would somebody tell me what a Kal'nedra is, and why you three look so concerned?"

Harry went over the Windenmere terms again, as he had for Professor McGonagall. "So by giving you that title, you have a certain status in the Windenmere families and these three have certain obligations toward you."

Hermione waved that off. "I live in the Muggle world when I'm not here, I doubt that will come up much. I am more interested in how I qualify as your Kal'nedra."

Blaise coughed violently as Daphne and Draco laughed. Harry blushed and quickly corrected Hermione. "Not my Kal'nedra, a Kal'nedra. Calling yourself my Kal'nedra implies an intimate relationship."

Hermione blushed. "Semantics aside, answer the question."

Harry looked at her. "I like you as a person. You're smart, with a great many habits and ways I like, and I think you'll be a good friend in the years to come."

Hermione looked at him and burst into tears. Harry was dumbfounded. "You're the first person to like me for me, without me helping them with school work."

"That's not exactly true," Daphne said. "Blaise and I like you too, and we've known you as long as Harry has."

Neville shrugged. "I haven't known you as long as they have, but you're a decent sort, even when you know everything." Ron agreed with him.

Daphne put an arm around Hermione. "Come on, let's go get you cleaned up. We wouldn't want anyone to see you looking like a waterworks. It might give us all a bad reputation."

While they were gone, Blaise looked at Harry. "I know you like her, Harry, but Kal'nedra? Isn't it a bit early for that? You barely know her."

Harry looked at something only he could see. "Sirius and Remus have spent years telling me tales of their years here, and the people they knew. Some of those stories included a Muggleborn Witch who knew every-bloody-thing, according to Sirius, and the teasing and harassment she got in her first couple of years. I can't sit back and watch it happen to someone I like without doing anything about it."

Blaise frowned for a minute and then his face lit up. "You mean Lily Evans, later Potter, your mother."

Harry nodded quietly. "Sirius didn't pay the Know It All much attention the first couple of years, except to tease her or prank her, and they didn't know how lonely those first couple of years were for her until after my father and mother started dating. I will not let that happen to Hermione."

Fred and George were watching Harry. They stood up. "You're a good man, Harry. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to get a few more people in on your prank on Nott."

By the time Daphne and Hermione returned, the other first years were studying. Hermione tapped Harry on the shoulder as she crossed the room to her chair. Harry looked up and Hermione simply smiled at him, mouthing "Thank you."

Harry smiled back and went back to his work.

_**OoOoOoO The Gryffindors and Nott, Hogwarts, 05SEP91. OoOoOoO**_

By the time dinner came around, almost everyone in school was staying away from Nott. It had started in the morning with the Gryffindors. Fred and George had talked to nearly thirty Gryffindors, and when the other Gryffindors saw those people trying to stay at least three metres from Nott, even if that meant running down a hallway to escape him, the others started doing it also.

Since everyone in school knew what Harry had done the day before, when the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs saw the Gryffindors running from Nott, they decided that prudence was the wisest course and they started avoiding him as well.

By noon even the other Slytherins were keeping as far away from Nott as they could, and the rumours going around had Nott doing almost anything active imaginations could dream up. Harry particularly liked the rumour that had Nott turning into Harry's very own House Elf.

When Nott entered the dining Hall that night he sat alone at the very end of the Slytherin table, as the other Slytherins threatened to hex him if he came any closer to them. Nott barely noticed their threats as he sweated and checked himself almost continuously, waiting for whatever was going to happen.

The food appeared without anything happening. Nott was barely eating, as he kept stopping to look at himself again. Since the rest of the students were watching him as well, waiting for whatever was going to happen, Nott was far too distracted to eat.

As the desserts appeared, a loud bang and a puff of smoke around Nott made most people jump and caused Nott to scream shrilly.

When the smoke cleared away, Nott was laying on the floor. Madame Pomfrey hurried to him, checking him quickly. "He's fine," she said in relief, "he just fainted." She checked him over again. "Mr. Potter," she said, looking at him, "enough is enough. What did your potion do to him?"

Every head turned to look at Harry, who blinked to find himself the centre of attention. He coughed a couple of times and when he was certain he could control his voice looked at Madame Pomfrey. "It wasn't a Potion. If Mr. Nott wasn't such a Pureblood bigot, he might have recognized the smell of rubbing alcohol, a Muggle fluid used to clean injuries."

Madame Pomfrey stared at Harry. "Are you saying that this young man spent the entire day worrying about nothing?"

Harry nodded. "I can't even claim the credit for the smoke or sounds." He sighed wistfully. "I wish I had thought of it though, it was the perfect touch."

Nott stirred and suddenly sat up, checking himself frantically. "What did he do to me?!"

Watching Nott grab his own bits in front of everyone was the last straw for the Gryffindors. A wave of laughter spread across their table, and within a few seconds, the other tables were laughing as well. Even some of the Slytherins were laughing at him. Madame Pomfrey kept most of her amusement off her face as she explained what Harry had said while Nott was passed out.

The laughter ended about the time Nott got the idea that nothing had happened to him through his head. He stood up and looked at Harry, hatred and fury burning in his eyes. "You will pay for this, Potter." He pulled his wand and pointed it at Harry. Harry jumped up, pulling his wand. Nott ignored his actions, merely staring at him. "On my name and honour, you will pay for this in pain and blood."

The hall fell silent as Nott's words triggered a magical vow and his wand lit up. As the silence spread, Theo Nott's face went from fury to shock and fear and then hardened into anger again. He glared at Harry for a second longer and then turned, leaving the hall without a word. Harry sat down, thinking about what had just happened. Maybe he had taken his prank just a bit far.

_**OoOoOoO The Author, Here and Now. OoOoOoO**_

_Voldemort, Nott, Mordred... If Harry doesn't learn to temper his actions with reasoned thought, he's going to have more enemies than you can shake a stick at. Ah well, he's young yet._

_I have to admit that I took a couple of days out of writing to read a certain book that came out on the 21st, so this took just a little longer than I thought it would. I will not apologize for that, as I have to assume everyone reading this probably took those days out of reading Fan fics to read the Canon ending to this mythological world we all love._

_A couple of comments about the story:_

_To those of you that thought the Windenmere families were racier than Muggles: You've never been to a night club or swinger's club, where people hook up for a night or a week, and may not even ask their partner's last name. That type of behaviour doesn't make up the majority of club going folks, but the Windenmeres are not a majority either._

_To everyone making guesses about Mordred and the identity he has assumed: Mordred is in Hogwarts with Harry, but he might be a year earlier, the same year, or the year after... He will be there close enough to Harry's year that being friends with him would not be strange. No one has yet guessed his name, despite plenty of clues. It is a Canon character._

_To everyone that thinks Animagi can be found: When Harry saw Peter Pettigrew on the Map, it didn't show him in rat form... merely that he was there. Plus, Rita wandered all over Hogwarts, supposedly one of the strongest places in the Wizard world, without being detected in her beetle form. From that, and the fact that three students could run around three nights of the month every month in Animagi forms, without being caught, I have to assume that the animal forms are undetectable by ordinary spells and wards. Also, Sirius managed to use his form to escape Azkaban, the Wizarding prison. If the Wizards had a spell to detect a human in an Animagus shape, I would assume it would be there. Looking at the number of registered Animagi, I have to assume that the ability is considered to be too rare to worry about._

_Harry Potter and the Avian Affinity: __Harry's affinity with Flying things is merely something I think JKR didn't do enough with. He bonded quickly with Hedwig and Buckbeak and his natural flying ability is insane, all of which leads me to believe that Harry simply has to have an affinity for Avian things._

_Right now, I'm off to work on PoE4._

_Raven_

_Revised Notes: Wow. I missed a big plot device in this chapter, which is now corrected. Other than that little bit, about a paragraph, this chapter only had a few corrections and clarifications._

_Raven_


	7. Pranks, Intentions and Flight

_Here we go with Harry's first year. I should be able to cover most of the year in this chapter since Voldemort is not in Hogwarts to cause trouble, Snape is missing, Mordred is setting long term plans up and the only open problem Harry has is a certain Nott Very Smart student. What an easy year this is going to be... (And if you believe that, you've not been reading my work. I love causing the hero problems.)_

_Another Author's note... You're going to meet Wayne Hopkins in this chapter, (Sort of,) and he is a canon character, according to the HP Lexicon. (I don't remember him at all, which is why I chose him for this bit of plot line. It's easy to torture, main and kill people you don't care about.)_

_**Harry Potter and the Bonds of Blood**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**Pranks, Detentions and Flight**_

_Dedication: For Tiffany, who flamed out far too soon. Fly high, little Sister._

_**OoOoOoO Harry and the Gang, Hogwarts, 03SEP1991-22DEC1991. OoOoOoO**_

Harry and his friends quickly gained a reputation in school. Actually, they earned several reputations. First and foremost, Harry refused to go an entire week without pulling some sort of a prank. Working from the notebook that Sirius had given him, Harry reused the Marauder's work, which hadn't been seen in so long that most of it was new to Hogwarts. Some of the Professors recognized the pranks of course and Headmistress McGonagall did as well.

Everyone knew Harry was doing it, but as yet, no one could prove it so Harry had escaped detention except for the one for Nott's rubbing alcohol one. Harry didn't delude himself, sooner or later, they would get caught, but right now he was planning everything and making full use of the Watchful Ward and the Marauder's Map as well.

Fred and George were very helpful as well. They were able to plant some things when Harry was in plain sight of other people, as well as making some of the more involved pranks that Harry and crew simply couldn't make yet.

They also were working on their own pranks, including a new one they tested on Harry, since he'd given them the idea for the Ton Tongue Toffee at the Sorting Feast. In retaliation, Harry turned them both into Platypuses one Saturday using a vial of Maire's Cross-Species Transfiguration potion.

That started a prank war that the rest of the school watched with amusement and some relief since while they were pranking each other they weren't pranking the rest of the school.

That war ended when Neville spent two days in the Infirmary after he mistakenly added the ingredients in a potion he was mixing for Harry in the wrong order. Neville was a great guy, and one of Harry's closest friends that wasn't a Windenmere, but his potions skill was sorely lacking.

The Ravenclaw House descended on Harry in mass one Sunday along with a few students from other houses and most of the fifth and seventh year students. Harry and crew were informed that with or without proof, if anyone charmed the books in the library to contain only the information in "Hogwarts, A History" again, Harry would pay for it.

Harry had sulked about that for a day or two. That charm had been brilliant, requiring the combined efforts of all of the gang and the Weasley twins. They had been working on a variation, that would cause all the books to be completely blank.

Hermione had only joined in on that one to be sure they didn't make a mistake and damage the books.

The second reputation Harry's group got was in the classroom. Between Hermione's intelligence, Harry, Daphne and Blaise's early training, and Draco's secret stash of the Malfoy library, the gang was far above the rest of the first years in class.

Each of them was good enough in different areas to help the others and under Harry's leadership, they did so. Hermione understood Transfigurations, Neville was the best in their year at Herbology, Draco was their Potions tutor and Blaise was a Wizard at Charms. Daphne turned out to be very good at Care of Magical Beasts and Hermione kept them ahead in History of Magic, as she was the only one that could maintain enough discipline to stay awake and take notes in that class. Harry led the group in DADA, showing them tips and tricks he'd gotten from Sirius, Remus and Professor Moody, who taught the DADA for the fifth years and up.

Harry, who was finding it nearly impossible to find time to fly finally broke down and let the gang in on his rogue Animagus ability. Hermione had been fascinated to find out that her eagle owl and Harry were the same form until she remembered the scene in Diagon Alley.

That was Hermione's introduction to the Mental Arts, the magic one could learn that didn't require a wand. She was fascinated by those arts, as they were the only magic she would be able to do during the summer while she was at home. It took them nearly a month to secretly brew the potion that would reveal a person's Animagus shape, but once they had it finished, four of the gang would take lessons from Harry. Draco was a silver fox, Ron Weasley would become a spider monkey and Hermione was the biggest one of the group. Hermione's shape was a king cobra.

That led to the gang finding out about Harry's Parseltongue ability. Blaise, Daphne and Neville didn't have shapes, but Maire's potion took care of that. The last person to have a shape was actually two people, but since none of the gang could tell Fred and George apart in either form, they had just started referring to them both as Freoge. The Weasley twins had the shapes of twin red ferrets, which opened whole new vistas of sneaking around for them.

Hermione, who was obsessive about learning everything, also pressed Harry for books and lessons on the rest of the mental arts and Harry was only too willing to help her. After all, these were the only types of magic Hermione would be able to do once she returned home, since she lived in a Muggle home and didn't have the wards of the older Wizard homes. Everyone knew that every Wizard or Witch had a spell on them that allowed the Department of Underage Magic to track their magic use, but most Wizards also knew that good wards, such as most older families had, would block the spell. Since Harry and the other three Windenmeres lived in the compound, they were careful about using magic only when they were away from home. The mental arts however, didn't trip that spell, as they were directed entirely inward and didn't require a wand.

Hermione, who didn't mind staying up until midnight when everyone else was sleeping, was the first one to complete her Animagus transformation, a point she made by slithering into the first year boy's room late one night and waking Harry up by coiling up on his chest and hissing at him in Parseltongue.

Harry was rather startled.

Hermione was very startled when Harry disappeared from under her.

Both of them spent the next hour in Professor Moody's office, explaining why Harry had activated the emergency Portkey Moody had given him in case something went seriously wrong.

Moody just shook his head when they were done. "So how many of your group are going to be roaming the halls as Animagi?"

Harry grinned. "All of them. I traded some pictures of Remus to Maire for the recipe to her potion."

Moody winced. "That woman is dangerous. How many of them don't need it?" He frowned at Harry. "And what other mental arts are you teaching them?"

Harry looked at the ceiling. "Professor Moody, you taught me never to admit any skill that you could hide. Are you suspending that rule?"

Moody nodded. "Yes. You kids are just a little too reckless for me not to know what you can do."

Harry sighed and started talking. When he was done, Moody sat back. "So, all of you are working on the basics of Occlumency and Legilimency, five of you are Animagi and you've all got a basic understanding of the theory behind the rest of the arts?"

Harry nodded. "All of them know that we aren't suppose to talk about the skills we're learning outside of the regular classes."

Moody nodded. "Good, but we're going to help you out another way. According to Ministry rules, you're supposed to report any attempt to become Animagi. Since I am still an Auror, abet on detached duty, you'll tell me what each of your Animagi are and I'll record it." He smirked. "I may not turn it in to the Ministry yet, but you'll be covered."

Harry grinned and then frowned. "Won't you get in trouble for not sending that in?"

Moody shrugged. "They may be a bit upset, but the most they can do is suspend me and maybe fine me a week's pay."

Harry nodded. "I'll do it, but if you get fined, you will allow me to pay it, as you're doing this for me and that is a debt."

Moody rolled his non-magical eye. "You and that honour code are going to get in trouble one of these days."

Harry shrugged. "Remus says that honour is a demanding mistress, but without honour, a Wizard is less than a man."

Moody sighed. "Just remember to leaven that Honour with a bit of practicality. Honour is nice, but it will get you killed if your enemy has none."

In mid November, several other first years and a couple of second years came to Harry, since he led the group. They had noted the results Harry's study group was getting and they wanted to study with them. That led to the formation of a regular study group three nights a week. Harry let Hermione organize it and within a couple of weeks almost all of the first years from every house could be found studying in the empty classroom they had claimed.

Only four of the first years were never present for those nights. Theo Nott, Tracy Davis, and Michael Pritchard would not stay anywhere Harry was, except in classes. Harry had ignored Nott since the prank and Nott's oath and so far, Nott seemed to be doing the same. The last person that never came to the study groups was the Witch Harry had not been able to identify in potions that first day. Since then he'd found out that her name was Sally Anne Perks and he vaguely remembered her being the person under the Sorting Hat just before him, but other than that, no one ever saw her. She was quiet in class and after the classes were over, she simply disappeared, as if she didn't exist except in class.

Hermione once compared her to a filler in a book, a name thrown out to fill a scene.

Harry's group studied school subjects during those classes and saved their extra curricular studies for the nights they were alone. The twins were the next ones to achieve their forms, and for a couple of weeks after that, no one saw them as they spend their free time trying to use their ferret shapes to get into places they couldn't reach as humans.

Draco and Ron both achieved the change in early December and the other three chose regular shapes. Neville wanted to be a wolf at first, but Harry convinced him that he might be mistaken for a werewolf and Neville chose to be a Tasmanian Wolf, a creature believed by Muggles to be extinct, since they didn't know about Wizard areas of New Zealand.

Blaise, whose sense of humour was a little warped, spent two weeks trying to decide between being a kangaroo or an anteater, two choices that made everyone blink. He finally admitted that he'd being having them on and picked the only other flying creature in the group, being a Peregrine falcon.

Daphne surprised them, choosing two forms. Her favourite was a Siberian tiger, but since that was not well suited to the sneaking around that they would have to do most of the time, she also kept some vials of potion that would allow her to become a small black cat. The potions only lasted about an hour, but since they were fairly simple and cheap to make, the group kept a lot of them on hand.

By the time the winter holidays rolled around, Harry was getting restless. He got the gang together late one Saturday afternoon. He absently sealed the charms on the room while everyone got settled.

"We haven't pulled a serious prank in awhile," was his opening statement. "I think it's time to get back to having fun."

Hermione sighed. "Harry, can't this wait until after the Holidays? I am still having problems with Legilimency."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Hermione, you have seven years to learn that. You don't have to learn everything in first year. After all, what will you do next year?"

Hermione frowned but conceded that he had a point. "So, what do you want to do?"

"I think the first thing we need to do is choose a group name," said Draco.

Murmurs of agreement came from Blaise and Neville. Harry looked around and nodded. "I think you're right. Any ideas?"

They discussed it for nearly an hour and finally decided to think about it over the holidays, since they couldn't agree on anything. While they were talking, Harry also reminded them that they needed shape names.

Hermione looked up at that. "The first person that calls me Scales or any variation will be hexed."

Harry smirked. Focusing on a memory of Hermione's shape, he hissed something in Parseltongue.

Hermione glared at him. "You know I only understand that when I'm changed. What did you say?"

"It doesn't translate well," Harry said, frowning as he thought about it. "It's a snake word for the gleam of the morning sun on scales."

Hermione frowned at him, thinking he was having a bit of fun at her expense. Harry raised his hands. "Hey, I'm just saying you have nice scales as a snake."

The great name debate took the rest of the weekend but in the end, Ron was Fingers, so named because of the dexterity of his form's hands, Neville was Stripe, an obvious choice, since his Tasmanian wolf had stripes, and Draco was named Ghost, since his form's colour was the same as a ghost's.

Blaise's falcon form gave him the name Hawk, since Wings was taken, and Daphne chose a name related to her favourite form, and was Tigger, a joke that the Windenmeres got, but that had to be explained to the Wizard born, as Pooh had not crossed over from the Muggles.. Hermione had relented and was Scales, as the other choices they had thought of were worse.

_**OoOoOoO Harry and crew, The group's study room, late one night, 20DEC1991. OoOoOoO **_

The day before they left for the holidays, Harry gathered everyone in the study room. Sealing the charms he looked around. "Everyone knows what to do, right?"

This was the secret to their success so far. Harry and Ron planned every step of each prank, with at least two options for everyone involved if something went wrong.

"Miss Scales, you've got the room tonight." One person always stayed in the study room, with the charms and wards up, so that they had a bolt hole if someone came too close.

"Mr. Ghost, you and Mr. Fingers are the distractions." The biggest dangers in roaming at night were Filch and Mrs. Norris. To keep them from catching any of the gang, they had one or two people who would raise a ruckus in another part of the castle, drawing their attention away from where ever they were placing their prank.

"Mr. Stripe, you have the Map and lookout." The lookout was the person tasked with keeping an eye on the map and letting the people placing the prank know if anyone came too close.

"Mr. Hawk, you and Miss Tigger are placing the prank on the House tables." Those two had the fun part this time. They were actually playing the prank. The group rotated the roles between them, so that everyone got a chance to play each part.

"Mr. Wings be laying a couple of spells on the staff table. Mr. Wings may be a bit, since I am going to try and mask my work well enough to get Professor Moody as well."

Draco snorted. "Good luck with that. The man raises paranoia to an art form."

Harry grinned. "Mr. Wings know that, and he just can't resist a challenge."

Remus and Sirius had never explained why they always referred to themselves in the third person when acting as Marauders, but they had always done so and Maire and Harry had been indoctrinated into the custom. Harry had insisted on following the tradition with this group, despite strenuous protests from Hermione.

They laid their final plans and went to their respective houses, making certain that their room mates saw them going to bed.

Anyone wandering the halls that night just after midnight would have seen a curious sight. Several animals were slipping through the shadows, following two boys and a girl. Blaise's falcon didn't see well at night, so he was using Harry's Invisibility Cloak and the rest of them were following him by scent or sound. Since Neville had to use potions to change, and he would have to be human for his part in the plan, he was the other boy in human shape. Daphne was also with them, as she couldn't cast under the potion. The three of them were under the Invisibility cloak and the rest of the group was following them by scent or sound.

Each of the ones that had to be in other places peeled off as they needed to and soon only Neville, Harry, Blaise and Daphne were together when they reached the Great Hall. Neville took the Cloak and waited in the hallway while Harry made one last check of the Marauder's Map. Seeing that they were alone in this part of the school, Harry gave the sign and Blaise opened the door as Harry gave the Map to Neville. They slipped inside and separated to do their work.

Daphne and Blaise were done in about fifteen minutes, but they waited nearly twenty minutes for Harry to finish with the staff table.

When he was done, they started back, collecting the people they had left behind. The only people they couldn't go after were the ones leading the caretaker and his cat on the wild goose chase, but they had a plan for that as well.

They gathered in the study room where Hermione, being Hermione, was studying. A minute later, Peeves floated through the floor. "Where are my goodies?"

Harry grinned and tossed Peeves a bag of Dung bombs and balloons. "Go find Filch and fuss at him, just like before."

Peeves cackled. "I like you, Potter. You pay me to do things I do all the time anyway." He disappeared through the ceiling.

Neville laid out the Map and watched as Peeves intercepted Filch and the two dots hovered there for a few minutes. The dots that were Ron and Draco started toward the study room and Harry sighed. They were almost done, and they'd avoided detection again.

The two soon joined the rest of the gang and they took a minute to make sure everyone's way back to their Houses was clear.

Harry closed the Map after making sure everyone got back safe and put it away. He crawled into his bed smirking. This prank was going to be very hard to blame on Harry and his group.

_**OoOoOoO Harry, Daphne and Blaise, Greengrass Estate, 25DEC1991. OoOoOoO**_

Harry woke up Christmas morning and yawned widely. When he closed his mouth he got a mouth full of hair. He spluttered and tried to pull it out. Clearing his mouth, he got up and went into his bathroom. He grinned at the mirror.

Harry's face had become rotund and his cheeks were a bright red. His beard was nearly as long as Hagrid's, although it was bit thinner and pure white. There was a twinkle in his eye, which looked disturbingly like old pictures of Albus Dumbledore. His hair hadn't changed, but Harry had been expecting that. No one had yet found any method to change, shorten or colour his hair, magical or Muggle. Other than his hair, Harry was a dead ringer for the popular Muggle character Santa Claus.

He got dressed and went down the hall to find Daphne and Blaise giggling at each other. Both of them looked exactly like Harry, except their hair was as white as their beards and had curled

"Ho, ho, ho." was Harry's greeting to his friends who were looking at him. "You look even weirder than we do," Blaise said. "The black hair just looks strange with that beard."

Daphne giggled. "I can't wait to see if you got Professor Moody, Harry. I can just see him with a beard and his eye rolling all around."

The three of them had a good laugh about that and then Harry looked at his friends. "OK, here we go. I'll accuse Sirius, and you two concentrate on Remus. Don't forget to toss an accusation or two Maire's way."

Daphne frowned at Harry. "Just remember to keep it light hearted. As soon as the reports of everyone in Hogwarts looking like this come out, Sirius and Remus will know who did it."

Harry smiled at Daphne. He tried to tousle her hair, but the charmed white curls simply fell back into place. "I know that, but we'll confuse them for a while anyway."

The three children went downstairs and slipped into the kitchen to grab some early morning hot cocoa.

Draco, whose chocoholic cravings were fast becoming legendary, was already there, talking to three of the Malfoy house elves that had come with him when he fled Malfoy Manor. He looked like the other three, and he sniggered. "Daphne, you look-."

"Shut it, you. I know what I look like." She smirked at the three boys. "You three do realize that if the older girls ever figure out who made them bearded ladies, you boys will pay and pay?"

Draco put on an innocent face. "But Cho," he pretended to be talking to a second year Ravenclaw, who was very pretty, and on her way to beautiful. "That one wasn't our idea, it was Daphne's. Surely you don't think we would want to make all the girls look like men, do you?"

Daphne glared at him. "You are such a Slytherin. How did you ever end up in Ravenclaw?"

Draco shrugged. "Madame Morgana is a stricter teacher than anybody at Hogwarts," he said seriously. "I'll have to be able to prove myself to her, if I want to become her first male apprentice."

The other three fell silent at the reminder of Draco's long term plans. Harry frowned. "Don't get me wrong, Draco, I like Madame Morgana, but she is very Dark."

Draco nodded. "I know. She can teach me more about the Dark Arts and how to counter them than all the DADA Professors of the last ten years combined. If I am going to find and kill the Lestranges, I need that advantage."

"Isn't that a cheerful conversation for Christmas morning." All three of them jumped and turned to stare at Professor Moody. He stared back at them, his white beard and red cheeks not matching well at all with the magical blue eye that was slowly spinning in its socket. "A strange thing happened this morning. There I was, peacefully sleeping in my own bed, when my Hex Detector starts ringing like mad." He crossed to the table and sat down, keeping his normal eye on Harry. "I jump out of bed, prepared to hurt someone, but my intrusion alarms are silent. Then I feel this beard and go look in a mirror." He looked at each of the kids in turn. "Image my surprise, when I see that I've turned into St. Nick." One of the house elves set a cup of cocoa at his elbow and Moody took a minute to cast a couple of basic detection spells over the cup while his magic eye continued to watch the quartet of kids. When he was done, he pinned Harry with his eye again. "I figure out quite quickly that someone must have pranked me."

He stood up and began pacing back and forth across the kitchen. "Now, my first thought is Sirius, who has never grown up and will likely try to become a poltergeist like Peeves so he can pull pranks forever. The problem with that scenario, is that I haven't seen Sirius since before term started, and Sirius is not the kind of person to delay a prank that long."

Harry scratched his chin. "That's true," he said thoughtfully. "So, Remus, maybe? He has a great deal more patience."

Moody stopped and pointed at Harry. "Good thought, Harry. I considered that one as well, until I started running a few tests on the charm on me. It is less than a week old, and I haven't been close to Remus in that week. In fact, to make a very long chain of ideas and thoughts very short, I'll get right to the final analysis. Whoever did this has been close to me in the last week, has some knowledge of Muggle culture, has a sense of humour and knows enough about me to circumvent the standard charms and defences that I use to prevent hexing."

He looked at each one of them in turn. Privately, he thought that Daphne and Draco needed to work on their innocent faces a little more. Daphne's eyes were just a bit too expressive and Draco's mischievous air didn't lend itself well to innocence. "now, all of you fall in all of those categories except one. Only one of you has been studying Charms, Hexes and Jinxes long enough to figure out how to get around my defences. Isn't that right, Harry?"

Long years of experience interrogating criminals allowed the Auror to see the flash of quickly suppressed dismay in Harry's eyes. Harry tilted his head to the side in that mannerism he'd inherited from Lily. "I do study them, and I am fairly good, but Draco is just as good and he has the Malfoy library, which could contain something that would work on you."

Moody noted that Harry, who did not like to lie, had not denied doing it yet. "And you have access to those books as well, plus the Black library and Madame Morgana's library, which puts the Malfoy library to shame." He held up his hand as Harry started to say something else. "To be honest, I'm annoyed that I was caught, but I will not do anything about it, if you tell me how you did it. The next person to try something may have more harmful effects in mind."

Harry thought about it for a second. "So, if someone was to admit to having done that to you, you won't do anything about it, as long as they tell you how? Does that include not telling anyone else how it was done? There are going to be a few others with the same problem you have."

Moody frowned as warning bells went off in his head. "Can the crap, Harry. How many people did you get with this prank?"

Harry jerked as Moody's tone and demeanour changed dramatically. He realized that Moody was completely serious now. "If we did it right, every single person in Hogwarts."

Moody swore. He stood up and crossed to the fireplace. Pulling a small bag from his robes, he made a Floo call. Three minutes later he stood up. He looked at Harry. "I'm going to warn you just this once. Never admit to having anything to do with this prank, any of you. Are all of your group bearded today?"

Harry nodded mutely, his confusion plain on his face. Moody sighed as he dug out more Floo powder. "You need to think ahead, Harry. Some of your fellow students live in the Muggle world and went home for the holidays, where they had friends or family over." Harry blinked and then paled as realization hit him. Moody nodded. "That's right, not all of their friends and family know about them or the Wizard world. The Obliviators have already responded to a dozen calls. I am going in to help out. Remember what I said, and get the word out to your helpers. Not a word about this, ever. You've broken the Secrecy rules badly." He Flooed away, leaving four pale children behind.

Harry turned to Daphne. "Get me some parchment and a couple of envelopes. I need to get messages off to Neville, Hermione and the twins right now." Harry looked up as the window opened. Like most of the older families, one window of the house was charmed to open for owls. Hedwig flew in the window. Harry smiled at her and held out his arm. By the time she landed he had an owl treat out for her.

"Hello, girl. Are you up for a quick trip? I need three letters delivered." Harry stroked Hedwig as she finished her treat and nibbled his ear gently.

Blaise sighed. "You are such a Wizard, Harry. As soon as something happens, you start looking for an owl. Owl the twins and Neville, but Hermione is a Muggleborn. It would be quicker to call her on a phone."

Harry blinked. "Good idea. Do you have her number?"

Daphne spoke up. "I have it. We were going to get together after Boxing Day and do something."

She handed Harry the things he'd asked for and they watched as Harry pondered the message he wanted to send.

"_Hey Freoge,_

_Did you wake up looking a bit older this morning? All of us did, and by all reports, it seems to have affected everybody in Hogwarts. Professor Moody is out helping the Aurors Obliviate Muggles. Some of the Hogwarts students hadn't told their entire families about magic. He thinks that whoever did this is going to be in serious trouble if the Aurors figure out who it was._

_I am so glad I had nothing to do with this prank, aren't you?_

_Although... if it was done during the school year, it does have possibilities. We should figure out how it was done when we get back to Hogwarts._

_Gotta go, it's time to wake the adults for presents._

_Merry Christmas,_

_Harry, Blaise, Daphne and Draco."_

Harry wrote a second note that was basically the same thing to Neville and tied them to Hedwig's leg. He took a second to stroke her head. "I need this to get to Neville and the Weasley twins as fast as you can get it there, OK?"

Hedwig nipped his finger and launched herself toward the window. She was out of sight in seconds. Harry watched her until she was gone. He turned to the others and looked at Daphne. "You want to call Hermione? Make sure you-"

Daphne sighed loudly over Harry's instructions. "Don't worry about it, Harry. I've been avoiding trouble as long as you have."

Draco coughed. "While she's doing that, we have to wake the adults. If we're too late, they'll figure out that something is up."

Harry grinned and handed each of the others a small vial. "If you can get into their rooms without getting caught or waking them, pour a bit of this on the adults."

Draco looked at the vial. "What is it?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure," he confessed, "but Maire asked me to spread it around today, and gave me fifty potions recipes that have potential for pranks, if I would try and use that stuff on a few people."

Daphne was just sitting down after calling Hermione when Harry said that. She eyed the vial dubiously. "Maire's sense of humour is a bit extreme, Harry. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Harry shrugged. "I told her I would try and get Remus with it, and she was fine with that, so I have to assume it's not too bad. Maire might torment the rest of us sometimes, but she'd never do anything too bad to Remus."

The kids separated to go wake up the adults. Harry would get Sirius and Remus, while Daphne and Blaise would get their parents. Draco had the hardest job. He had to wake up Marigold, the woman who had instructed Harry in his Animagus form and changes. The reason this was considered the hardest job was simple. Marigold was not a morning person, and quite regularly slept in until noon. She seriously thought that it should be an Unforgivable offence to be woken before ten in the morning at the earliest, and she had a habit of cursing and hexing people that woke her before then.

Draco had lost the coin toss to see who had to wake her.

Harry stopped outside Sirius' door and checked it for wards and traps. With the nearly continuous pranking that went on between Maire, Remus, Sirius and Harry, all of them made it a habit to protect themselves when they were sleeping.

Allowing the other three unrestricted access to your person when you couldn't defend yourself was just asking to have some difficulty when you woke up. Harry found a simple alarm ward and some other ward he didn't recognize. He tried a couple of different spells on it, trying to determine what it did.

Harry was so interested in the ward that he missed the rush of displaced air behind him. He was just about to cast another spell when a voice came from directly behind him.

"It doesn't do anything. It simply shows up when wards are checked for." Harry jumped and turned to find Sirius smirking at him. Sirius cast a spell at the door after taking the wards down and showed Harry a very thin spell, that had been lost under the glow of the brighter wards. "This one, on the other hand, alerts the occupant of a room that someone is checking his defences. It will also create a silencing spell in a predetermined area, so you can Apparate behind whoever is playing with your wards."

Harry looked at it. "Teach me that spell later, will you? Right now, we have more important things to do. We have to get Remus, and open presents." Harry grinned at Sirius. "I thought of a different way to wake Remus." He told Sirius what he wanted to do.

Sirius grinned. "We can do that to him, he never sets dangerous wards and his furry little problem will keep him from being too asleep. We won't have to worry about being cursed by accident." Sirius stopped Harry outside of Remus' room. "By the way, nice beard, Harry. Are you trying to look more mature?"

Harry blinked. "No, someone got all of us. Blaise, Daphne and Draco have beards and the whole Santa look also. So does Moody."

Sirius grinned. "Ha!" he laughed. "Someone got Moody? I wish I could claim this one. Remus and I have a bet about who's going to get him first."

Harry coughed. "You don't want to claim this one. It seems to have gotten every person in Hogwarts, including the ones out in the Muggle world today. Apparently, some of the students that live in the Muggle world had not told everyone about magic. Moody is out helping the Obliviators now. He thinks the laws of secrecy have been broken badly."

Sirius frowned for a second. He looked at Harry. "I'm not going to ask, and you're never going to tell me." He grinned then. "But if you did get everyone in Hogwarts, good job, Pup." He tousled Harry's hair and grinned at Harry. "Now, let's wake the last member of our group and have some fun."

The two of them grinned and then Sirius pushed the door open abruptly and they burst through the door, screaming like Banshees and running to jump on Remus' bed.

Remus' wolf made him sleep lightly, and he woke up as soon as his ward on the door was breeched. His wand was in his hand, but he recognized the smell and sound of the two who landed on the bed before he cursed them.

Maire, on the other hand, didn't have Remus' wolf. She was jerked rudely out of sleep by the sounds and in her sleep fogged mind decided this was some sort of an attack.

Only the fact that she was draped over Remus kept Sirius and Harry intact and uncursed. Remus rolled over on top of her, making sure that Harry or Sirius didn't land on Maire.

It took Harry and Remus about one second after they hit the bed to realize that there were two heads in the bed.

Harry was the first to get off the bed. Sirius just slid over to the side of the bed and grinned at Remus. "Sorry," he said, not sounding very sorry, "but it's time for presents, so we came to get you."

Remus just sighed. "That's nice. I am awake now, so you can get out of here."

Sirius was about to say something when Maire moved Remus' arm enough to glare at him. "Sirius Black, I am naked under here. If you are not out of here by the time I get to my wand, I will be dressed in your hide." Her left hand began fumbling around on the night stand next to her side of the bed, and Sirius rolled off the bed. "Good morning to you too, Maire. I'm going. Come on, Harry. Let's let the love-birds get up without us."

Harry and Sirius stepped out of the door. Sirius started to close it and then stuck his head back in the door. "We'll be waiting for you, so don't take too long."

Sirius jerked his head out of the door and slammed it just as a spell hit the door. He blinked, considering the small hole in the door. He stood next to it and compared the hole to his body. Had he been a little slower, the curse would have hit him in the neck. "Miss Shaper has great aim, considering she was aiming over Mr. Moony's back."

Harry gave him a gentle shove, making sure that the potion he'd spread on his hands got on Sirius' skin. He'd decided that whatever Maire was doing couldn't be that bad, and that getting it on Sirius was worth whatever was going to happen to him.

The adults had a great deal of fun taking pictures of the bearded kids, who were finding that beards were extremely itchy. Most people that grew beards had time to become accustomed to them, but the children hadn't had that advantage. Watching the kids scratching and tugging at them was another source of amusement for the older people that didn't have beards.

The group ate a quick breakfast while they waited for the people that didn't live on the Windenmere compound to arrive. Four families had estates in the compound, a holdover from the times when the Windenmere group was just beginning and they had enemies, as well as needing to protect each other from Goblins during their periodic rebellions. The Greengrasses, where Harry, Sirius and Remus lived, The Zabinis, Blaise's family, Harry's other close relative, Martin Harold Montrose IV, and the cadet branch of the Fetchlys. The Fetchlys had been disowned by the rest of their family when Reginald Fetchly had joined the Windenmere group two hundred and forty years ago, so their connections with the rest of the Fetchly family were old and there was very little contact between the branches of the family.

The four houses had their own instant transportation system. The secret of it was a closely guarded Montrose secret, but each house had a warded room with a simple silver circle in the centre of the room. Standing in the circle allowed a person to name one of the other houses and be instantly transported to that house.

This system had two advantages over the Floo. First, it was installed and kept up by Family, so no one else knew about it, or how to prevent its use. Second, a person could not use the system until after a ritual that allowed them to pass the wards. On the downside, it took a week to build the circle and it had a short range, maybe fifty kilometres at most.

For holiday celebrations, most of the families came to the Greengrass house, as the great ballroom was the only room that would hold all the families. This morning, only a few of the people in the compound would be coming over.

Remus, Sirius and Maire, who were considered Harry's parents, were already here of course, and Madame Morgana, Lemos and Moody were normally here on holidays, for a while anyway.

Blaise and his parents would come here, as would Daphne and her mother. Draco also lived with the Greengrasses most of the time, although he spend a lot of nights with Blaise. Technically, as the Head of the Black Family, Sirius was Draco's guardian as well.

During the course of the day, all of the Windenmere families would send a representative or an owl message to pay their respects to the head of the Windenmere group.

Their would also be a Ball later that night, with a carefully chosen guest list. The Minister, the Ministry department heads and forty or fifty other very prominent people would be invited. Harry and the younger kids would be allowed to be there for the first half of the ball, but after that, they would leave and the adults would get down to the political and social manoeuvring that was the real function of the ball.

The only reason the kids were allowed to be there for part of the ball was also political. Harry Potter was an important icon to the wizard world and these balls allowed the politicians and society in general to see him and make sure he was in good health and growing up without any taint of Darkness.

A little after seven in the morning everyone that was coming for the gift giving was there and they went to the living room to open gifts. Sirius was as eager as the children and changed into Padfoot to bounce around and attack everyone that would let him with wet, slobbery dog kisses.

They settles into the seats and chairs scattered around the room and Sirius changed again. "Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone not covered by the above categories," he said pompously, "we have gathered here to indulge in frivolity, fun and frolic. As such, I expect to see large smiles on everyone's faces."

Sirius looked around. He shook his head sadly, although the effect was ruined by his smirk. "The smiles are not big enough yet." He grinned. "I know what we need. 'Magic Fingers'."

At his words, the prank he'd pre-set on the chairs was activated and everyone sitting down was hit with a tickling hex. Sirius let them all squirm for a minute and cancelled it. He smirked at Moony. "First prank of Christmas, pay up."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Just get on with the presents, fruitcake. We'll settle up at the end of the day."

Sirius reached down to the pile of gifts under the tree, gently brushing one of the little fairies that decorated the tree out of the way. "Let's see, the first victim is Maire Connelly, who has the privilege of opening a gift from Remus Lupin."

Sirius handed Maire's gift to Daphne who passed it around to her. It was the tradition in the Greengrass house that gifts were opened one at a time, so that everyone could watch and Christmas morning would last that much longer.

Maire smiled at Remus. She leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss, causing a chorus of "awws" and a couple of "Get a room" calls. She ignored all of them and began carefully peeling the wrapping paper from the gift, causing Sirius and Harry to sigh loudly and roll their eyes. She stopped and looked at them. Sirius shook his head. "Maire, you are far too repressed. Just rip it open and see what it is."

"Sirius Black, you open your gifts your way, I'll open mine my way and we'll both be happy." Sirius was about to say something when Maire raised her eyebrow. "Sirius Black will also have a mouth to heckle people with."

Sirius blinked and sighed again loudly, flopping down on the floor next to Harry. "Right. Go ahead."

Sirius loftily ignored Remus' snickers.

Remus had gotten Maire a rare text on potions, and the giving continued. Sirius and the rest of the Marauders had been convinced several years ago that hexing gifts on Christmas was bad form, mostly because the rest of the Windenmere people had gotten together and turned all four of them, Maire, Remus, Sirius and Harry into hummingbirds for the rest of Christmas day, forcing them to miss the feast and the rest of the day's events. Harry hadn't really minded that much, as he thought being a bird of any type was great fun, but they all still got the point.

Harry got several books, from Maire, Remus and Madame Morgana, a wand care kit from Daphne and several other things. Sirius got him a rather large selection of things from Zonko's. "Not as good as making your own pranks," he told Harry, "but great for quick work."

Harry, as was his nature, influenced by Sirius, had gotten fun things for everyone. He gave Maire a travelling potion kit, that travelled well since it grew legs and ran away every time you tried to open it.

Remus got a back scratcher shaped like a werewolf's hand that randomly turned into forty feathers and tickled you while you were using it. Draco got a Cauldron that turned everything you threw into it invisible and a warning that it might not be the best cauldron for Hogwarts. Blaise got something inspired by a Muggle thing called a 'Mood ring', and received a robe that changed colours with his mood. Sirius got a wand that made all the visible spell effects neon pink.

They had been giving gifts for about an hour when Harry held up his arm without looking up from Madame Morgana's gift, a book titled "Illusions and Reality; The Thin Line of Perception." Hedwig landed on his arm a minute later and Harry looked at her. "Merry Christmas, Hedwig. How was your night?"

Hedwig cocked her head sideways, in a move eerily reminiscent of Harry's habit. She reached out and tugged on Harry's beard. Harry grinned. "It's only temporary. Thanks for the early morning work. Did you have any problems?"

Hedwig stared at Harry for a minute and then turned her back on him. Harry held out an owl treat without saying anything and added another one after a few seconds. Hedwig finally decided to accept the bribe and turned around, nipping the treats out of his fingers without touching the digits. Harry stroked her and held up a bag. "There's a new type of treat on the market. Would you try one?"

Hedwig considered the bag and Harry. She looked at Sirius and Remus. "No, they didn't give these to me. They are safe from pranks." Hedwig bent and took one of the new treats. She ate it and considered the bag. A few seconds later, she turned around again and pooped on the bag. Harry shrugged. "OK. I'll get rid of them." Harry stroked Hedwig for a few more minutes and then let her go off to the owlery.

Blaise and Draco were frowning as they spoke in low whispers. When Hedwig was gone, they looked at Harry. "How did you do that?" asked Draco.

Harry frowned. "She's my familiar, I can sense her emotions. You know that."

Draco was shaking his head. "Not the talking, that's not even weird any more. I mean, how did she deliver a letter to the Weasley twins and Neville and get back so quick?"

Harry frowned. "What are you talking about? She never takes more than two hours to deliver a letter anywhere in England. Hogwarts to here is only about six hours for her."

The others looked at each other. Remus and Madame Morgana were the first to recover. "Harry Potter, you should know better than that. What is the flight speed of a Snowy owl?"

Harry answered instantly. "In a straight line, about thirty kilometres an hour." He blinked. He tilted his head over and thought for a minute. "Hedwig shouldn't be able to do that, should she?" He thought about it some more. "I wonder if it's because she's my familiar."

Madame Morgana and Maire both shook their heads. "Madame Morgana had an owl familiar a few years ago, and nothing like this was apparent."

Harry frowned at Madame Morgana. "I've seen that look before. I will very upset to find Hedwig in your lab, Madame Morgana."

Madame Morgana sighed. "Why does everyone think I dissect everything I see?"

Maire, Sirius, Remus and Harry looked at each other and burst out laughing. Sirius looked at her. "With all due respect, I've been visiting you for ten years now. I've never seen your table empty. When was the last time you weren't dissecting something?"

Maire smiled. "I know. It was the fifth of January, 1981. She was working with an Inferi she captured from Voldemort and it got away from the table. It took her two days to find her next subject."

Sirius blinked. "You took an Inferi from Voldemort?"

Madame Morgana shrugged. "I had found a new book on them and no one else had any."

Harry frowned at her for a second. "Could you have stopped Voldemort?"

"I don't know, Harry Potter. I think so, but you know that I don't do anything without getting something for it, and no one ever asked me to do anything to him." She looked at Harry. "Speaking of doing things to people, you be wary around Theo Nott, Harry Potter. Anabelle Nott was the Morgana before my trainer. Theo Nott may have access to everything in my library, except the things designed in the last one hundred years or so."

The group frowned. Harry thought about it for a minute. "Since he declared himself my enemy, he can't find me here, thanks to the Bonds of Blood. That means that whatever he's going to do will have to happen at Hogwarts or in some other public place. That limits the Darkness he can use. I think I can counter most of your lesser curses."

Remus frowned. "The problem with that, Harry, is that Nott should know that you can't be directly targeted. He'll have to attack someone near you and hope you get in the way or are caught in the backlash."

Daphne and her mother spoke together. "QUIET!" The Sonorus enhanced shouts echoed though the room while everyone winced and covered their ears. Donnetta Greengrass looked around. She touched her throat with her wand and spoke again. "Thank you, but we still have gifts to give out and this is Christmas. If I hear one more word about problems that can wait for tomorrow, I'm going to introduce the offending party to a Muggle thing called Ex-lax. Does everyone understand me?"

Sirius scratched his head. "Not exactly. What is Ex-lax?"

Donnetta smirked. She leaned over and whispered in his ear. Sirius' eyes popped open. "That's disgusting. You are an evil woman."

He turned back to the small pile of gifts left under the tree. "This one is for Harry." Sirius looked at the tag. "From Hermione, of all people. How is her owl, anyway?"

Harry answered absently, examining the small brightly wrapped package. "He's fine. Hermione is growing very attached to Chadwick. I understand he has stayed in her room a few times."

Draco snickered while Sirius and Remus just exchanged matching grins. Blaise winced. "Harry, do you even think before you open your mouth?"

Harry frowned at him. "What?" He thought about what he'd said and sighed, rolling his eyes. "I said he stayed in her room, not I stayed there."

"Yeah, sure, Pup. We understand," Sirius said, smirking broadly.

"Oh, of course you wouldn't be caught dead in Hermione's room, would you?" Remus and Sirius had the same demented grin now.

Harry frowned at them. "You two had better be careful. If you give me too many ideas too young, you could be grandparents in the next five or six years." Harry wasn't even close to serious, but that remark shut the two eternal children up

Sirius shuddered. "I can't be a grandparent, I'm too young." Remus was nodding in agreement. Both of them shivered.

Maire looked around. "Speaking of grandparents, I would like to announce that Remus and I will be parents in about seven months."

The cheers that rose at this announcement were cut short as Remus paled and fell off his chair.

Moony, Marauder, Survivor of the Voldemort War and Werewolf, had fainted.

Maire helped Sirius put Remus on the couch. Sirius woke the werewolf and grinned at him. They both looked at Maire. She smiled sweetly. "Should I have told him first?"

_**OoOoOoO A Hogwarts Student's House, just before dawn, 25DEC1991. OoOoOoO**_

"Everybody knows the plan. Go, and don't fail the Dark Lord."

Seven Wizards and one Witch split up and circled the house. A few minutes later, they regrouped. "Anti-Apparation wards are up," one said.

"The Floo system is down."

"Anti-Portkey wards are in place."

"Good. You four have the guard. You and you, bring the Dark Lord and come with me."

The three people, mere shapes in the pre-dawn light, crossed the garden and crept silently up to the back door. A muttered spell later, they were inside and they split up. One of the men found the adult's bedroom and cast two quick curses. Blinking the green flashes out of his eyes, he checked the bodies. He didn't expect to find any life in them, but caution had become second nature over the last ten years, which is why he was here today.

Two visiting relatives were found in a guest room and given the same treatment. The woman in black robes found the student. One more spell was cast, and then another.

In the living room, she joined her companions, trailed by the immobilized body of the student. "I have the Dark Lord's host."

One of the men, the one that had been giving orders earlier looked up. "Thank you, Bella. Put the meat over there and help us prepare for the ritual."

The three of them set up a cauldron and prepared a few very specific ingredients for the ritual they were about to do.

"_Make sure the body is healthy. It is not my first choice, but it is available."_ The thin high-pitched voice sent chills up all three of the Death Eater's spines. "_Snape, how much longer?"_

Severus Snape looked around. "Three more minutes, my Lord. Twenty minutes for the ritual. In less than half an hour, you'll have a body again, my Lord."

"Excellent. Continue."

The student was watching with fear in wide eyes, unable to even blink under Bella's total body bind. Bella giggled at the look in those young eyes. "Be happy. You have been chosen to be the host of Lord Voldemort while he kills Harry Potter."

She turned away then as the ritual started.

_**OoOoOoO Mordred le Fay, Home, 25DEC1991. OoOoOoO**_

"_A duelling club. Must get a Gryffindor to start that. Potter will join that, no problems there. I'll have to get him to show me a few tricks in DADA, get a bit closer to him. Preferably, get him to think of me as Kal'nedra. Some sort of club for people in every house, one that will let us mingle without having to study the entire time. Maybe a chess club?"_

Mordred paused as his mother called to him. "Coming, mother." He frowned as he put his notes on changing the social structure of the school away in the hidden compartment in his trunk. He went downstairs, still working out his plan to integrate all of the houses, so that when he killed Harry Potter and took his identity, he would have a consolidated platform for his work. He sighed as he started washing the dishes. "_I wonder if anyone would notice if I killed these fools?"_

Mordred thought about killing the people whose son he'd murdered so many years ago, trying not to think about the menial tasks he was performing.

_**OoOoOoO Harry and family, the Windenmere compound, 25DEC1991. OoOoOoO**_

"Thank you, Minister Fudge. Merry Christmas to you also."

Harry personally thought Fudge was a spineless idiot, but after the ministry was cleared of everyone that had provided information to Mordred, been controlled by him, or simply been on his side, Fudge was one of the three most visible people left and of the other two, Mad-Eye was never even considered for the interim Minister and Arthur Weasley had refused to even consider it, being happy where he was.

Fudge was great at one thing, Sirius pointed out. He was an excellent politician, able to point out every good thing that happened and take credit for it, while glossing over or hiding his mistakes. That was the only reason nobody really opposed him. He looked good to the people and everyone knew that he didn't really do anything but talk. Moody thought there would be problems when Voldemort or Mordred returned, but then, Moody always looked at the worst possible case.

Harry sighed as he looked around. Politicians, Wizengamot members, society people, people Harry knew only from the annual ball and the Daily Prophet. He would love to be upstairs right now, but they were here to see that the Bloody Boy Who Lived was being treated right and not becoming Dark. That meant Harry had to mingle and play nicely when what he really wanted to do was prank the whole lot of them. He started dreaming about how he would do it.

"I've seen that look before, Harry. What are you up to now?" Remus was standing next to Harry.

"How would you go about pranking this entire room without getting caught?" Harry grinned at the expressions that flashed across Remus' face. Surprise first, then a touch of worry as he looked Harry over, checking for anything Harry might be using to prank the crowd and then intrigued interest as he thought about how he'd do it.

Harry scratched his chin, happy to be done with the beard. It had faded away exactly six hours after it had appeared. Maire's prank had not yet manifested and Harry was very curious as to what it would be.

"What are you two plotting?"

Remus and Harry both automatically assumed innocent looks. "What makes you think we're plotting anything?" Remus asked Lemos, who had come up next to them after raiding the canapé table.

Lemos snorted. "Two things. First, I've been around both of you long enough to recognize that look and second, I don't believe any of you four could go two days without plotting something."

He looked at Harry and smiled. "Have you heard from your schoolmates yet, Harry? It seems that someone decided to turn the entire school into Santa Claus for a few hours. Would you know anything about that?"

Harry nodded. "Of course I do. I had a beard as well, and Daphne, Blaise and Draco were all St. Nick's also. I haven't heard from Hermione, Neville or the Weasley twins yet, but I assume that they were all affected as well." Harry grinned. "The look just clashed with Moody's eye though."

Lemos chuckled. "You got Moody, also?"

Harry shook his head. "I never said I did it, I said Moody was caught in it. Big difference there."

Lemos looked at Harry. He looked around and lowered his voice. "Harry, I know better, you know better, everyone that knows you, knows better. I also know the Obliviators were upset about working on Christmas, and that you can't admit it to anyone. That will not stop me from thinking it was excellent work, and that the people that did it should be more careful next time and think about possible side effects."

"Mr. Potter, may I ask you a few questions?" Harry turned and sighed. Mary Goyle was completely unlike her cousin. She was slim and short, with long black hair and flashing eyes. She was also intelligent and a reporter for Witch Weekly.

Harry looked at her for a minute and silently debated simply running away. "Three questions, Miss Goyle." Harry frowned at her. "Decent questions."

Mary pouted. "I've never written anything bad about you, Mr. Potter. Is it true that you're the best student in Gryffindor in your year?"

"No. Hermione Granger is the best student in our year, and several students can outdo me in at least one subject." Harry was starting to relax. If all the questions were about Hogwarts, he could live with them.

Mary wrote something in her notebook and looked at Harry. "It's said that you're following in your father's footsteps and playing a few pranks. Is that true?"

Harry smiled. "The only thing anyone can say I did was the prank on Nott, and that's it."

Mary smiled. "I note you didn't actually say you hadn't pulled any pranks."

Harry looked at her. "I have not pulled a single prank, other than the one on Nott."

Mary frowned. "That's a definite answer, but somehow I think I'm just not asking the right question."

Harry shrugged. "You'd better make this one a good one, since it is your last."

Mary looked at her notes. "Mr. Potter, who are your three best friends in Hogwarts?"

Harry frowned. He thought about that one for a minute. "I cannot claim three. Hermione Granger, Daphne Greengrass, Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy, Ron, Fred and George Weasley and Neville Longbottom are all Kal'nedra." He shrugged. "I cannot honestly say I like one of them better than the others."

Mary nodded slowly as she wrote all the names down. "You seem to have a wide range of friends, Mr. Potter. Three Windenmeres, four Purebloods and one Muggleborn. Is that deliberate?"

Harry frowned at her. "I grew up with Draco, Daphne and Blaise, the Weasleys are just good people, Neville and I have a longer history than I can remember and Hermione is a good person." Harry smiled softly. "Any of them would be a great best friend."

Mary sighed. "One more question?" she asked hopefully. "About your friends, not you."

Harry nodded. "Go ahead."

Mary smiled and looked around. Lowering her voice she looked at Harry. "How many of them have helped with those pranks "you" didn't do? I think somehow, that you couldn't say "We haven't pulled any pranks". I'll even make this one off the record until you get caught by someone else."

Harry smiled. "The nine of us may have indulged in a few after class activities."

Mary smiled and then her eyes flickered over Harry's shoulder. "I'll be going now. That twit and I don't see eye to eye." She made a big deal about putting her notebook away. "Thank you for the interview, Mr. Potter. It should be out soon. I will send you a copy." She smirked at whoever was coming up behind Harry and left.

"Interviews with Witch Weekly, Mr. Potter? My, my. Perhaps I should switch papers."

Harry stole a glance at Remus as he turned, schooling his face into blandness. "Hello, Miss Skeeter. I thought you had been taken off the guest list for this event." Harry was watching Remus out of the corner of his eye. Remus was not happy.

Rita's eyes flashed under the gaudy glasses she wore. "I was, but no one said I couldn't come as a guest of an invited guest."

Remus frowned. "I'll have to take care of that little oversight." He allowed a bit of the wolf to show in his eyes. "I suggest that you not push your luck, and go away. Now."

Rita smiled at Remus, a cold and hateful smile. "Still holding a grudge, Werewolf? It's only been nine years."

Remus took a deep breath and pushed the wolf back, thankful that it was the new moon, when his wolf was weakest. "Nine years, ninety years, nine hundred years. I will still remember that you wrote the inflammatory articles that nearly had me banned from seeing Harry. Someday, you will pay for that. For now, I can insist that you not speak to Harry. Go away before I hex you."

Harry looked at Remus. "Let me do it. You might get in trouble, but I think I can get away with a touch of accidental magic." He glared at Rita. "Remus and Sirius are the closest family I have and the Windenmeres have taught me a certain respect for family. Causing them trouble is causing me trouble and I don't take well to that sort of thing." Harry looked around and spotted the person he was looking for. Catching his eye, Harry motioned him over.

"You wanted me, Mr. Potter?" The Wizard that was speaking was was nearly as big as Hagrid and like Hagrid, was a half Giant. Romero Delgado had come to the Greengrasses from Spain after local bigotry had driven him away. Nearly as wide as Harry was tall and close to three and half metres tall, Romero was an imposing sight.

"Mr. Delgado, this person is annoying Remus and myself. Would you remove her and make sure she doesn't enter the grounds again, without written permission from Reginald Greengrass?" Harry smirked at Rita. "Remus, remind me tomorrow to have a word with our host."

"I don't think you'll be needing to do that, Harry. I think Miss Skeeter will understand if I don't allow her on any Greengrass property, and I may suggest that same action to the rest of the families."

Rita snarled silently but retreated as Romero stepped up. "This way, Miss Skeeter."

Reginald watched them leave. "Harry, we are family. You don't have to consider me your host."

Harry smiled affectionately at the older Wizard. "I don't, but calling you great-grand uncle twice removed is just so cumbersome."

Reginald smiled as he tousled Harry's hair. "Agreed, but uncle works for me."

Harry grinned. "Uncle Remus, Uncle Reginald, Uncle Sirius, Aunt Maire... for an only child, father had a lot of siblings."

The three of them shared a smile as Lemos watched. He was already planning his article for tomorrow. Harry Potter was a good kid and Lemos didn't mind telling people that.

_**OoOoOoO Voldemort, Somewhere in Scotland, 26DEC2000. OoOoOoO**_

"Our tracks are covered?"

One of the men before Voldemort, who was dressed in the robes of a senior Auror sank to his knees. "We are, my Lord. I led the investigation and they found all the evidence we planted. According to the official story, the father was making a Muggle drug under the house and his chemicals exploded, destroying the house and killing the four inside. Wormtail is playing a convincing role, as the shocked survivor. Your woman in St. Mungo's is making sure he gets his dose of Polyjuice every hour."

"Excellent. Bella, how secure is this place?" Voldemort turned his eyes on his most trusted servant.

"The wards are up, my Lord." She smirked. "Your pet Auror here was most helpful in that regard."

The Auror looked at her distastefully. "I may be a 'pet', but I earned my position without laying on my back." He was gripping his wand as he spoke and as Bella spun he pulled it.

"Enough!" Both of them froze as that barked command. "Bella, stop teasing him and you had better remember that Bella has been my loyal and dedicated servant far longer than you. If I have to choose between you, she will win."

Voldemort stood up. He was still a little unsteady. It had been a great many years since he had been in a body this young and his reflexes and reactions were of a seventy years old man, not a pre-pubescent child. "Right now, we're going to make sure that my presence is masked from any Dark Arts detectors they may have at Hogwarts. I will get in that school and kill Harry Potter. He frowned thoughtfully. "First though, I want to know if your report is correct, Auror. If they do have the Staff of Merlin in that third floor room, I want it." Voldemort smiled cruelly. "After that, I want to hear Potter scream. Bella, bring me the book on that spell after we finish here. I must be sure I know the exact limits of the Bonds of Blood that protect Harry Potter."

_**OoOoOoO Oliver Wood, at Home, 26DEC2000. OoOoOoO**_

"What do you mean, you can't play Seeker any more?" Oliver was hyperventilating as he spoke to the head in his fireplace. Michael Spinner wasn't the best Seeker in the school, in fact, it was a close toss-up as to whether Michael or the Hufflepuff Seeker was the worst, but he had one advantage over anyone else: He would go out there and try. No one else in Gryffindor was good enough to play and willing to put up with Oliver, who was, in the words of his team mates, "Bloody freaking bonkers" about the game.

Oliver was willing to admit that he had a certain intensity about Quidditch, but he was planning on making it a career and a couple of winning seasons wouldn't hurt a bit. He looked at Michael desperately. "Is there any way to convince you to stay for the season?"

Michael shook his head. "I've played seven games in the last two years. I caught two snitches, was injured four times and spent six days in the Infirmary the last time we played. I would have quit then, except that was the second time I caught the Snitch. I just can't do it again. Worrying about my skin is distracting me from the NEWTs."

Michael's head turned away for a second. He turned back to Oliver. "David says you need to try out Harry Potter. Apparently, the kid can fly. He said to ask Ron Weasley about the necklace, whatever that means."

Oliver's eyes narrowed as he thought about it. "James Potter was a Chaser. Harry's wiry, a decent build, but not too large for Seeker." Oliver was so busy thinking about Harry's potential that he didn't even notice Michael's head disappearing from the fireplace.

Ten minutes later, he was Flooing the Burrow. "Fred, is Ron around?" Oliver got an affirmative reply. "Great. I need to talk to him for a few minutes, and then we need to talk. Michael just quit." He winced at the response that got. "I'll tell you about it after I come through. Five minutes."

Oliver stood up and went looking for his mother. "Mum, Michael just quit on us and I need to find a Seeker ten minutes ago. I'm going over to the Weasley house to talk to Fred and George."

Dora Wood watched her son disappear into the other room with a smile. She's been a second string Chaser for the Holyfield Harpies before his birth and she loved the sport as much as he did. "_I hope he finds a good Seeker. That team needs one."_

_**OoOoOoO Harry and Maire, at home, 26DEC1991. OoOoOoO**_

"Harry Potter, I would ask you a question."

Harry turned and looked at Maire curiously. She had lost most of the formality that Madame Morgana always used since moving in with Remus. He grinned as she leaned on the wall and blinked at him. Maire drank very rarely, but Sirius had brought out a bottle of 'special' wine tonight and led toasts to just about everyone. What no one had known until it was too late was that the alcohol in the wine was charmed. Where Sirius had found a charm that negated all the alcohol in a man's cup, while doubling the alcohol in a woman's cup was a subject best left alone, but Maire and Donnetta both had ended up very tipsy on very little wine. Apparently, Maire was still not fully recovered.

"Earlier, Harry Potter, you called Hermione Granger's owl 'Chadwick'. Would Harry Potter know the meaning of that name?" Maire was concentrating on her words and Harry hid a smile. Maire would remember this while she was getting Sirius back.

"I'll tell you, if you tell me something. What did your oil do? I haven't felt any effects yet."

Maire smiled. "Nothing yet. It will happen as the year ends." She smiled again. "Remus is going to love it."

Harry blinked at the expression on Maire's face. That look usually meant you wouldn't be able to find Maire or Remus for a couple of hours. "Maire, what's it going to do to those of us that also got some of it on us?"

Maire blinked at Harry. "Harry Potter should have been more careful. He will need a girl to remove this one. Now, tell me about Chadwick."

"James Chadwick discovered the neutron. He won a Nobel Prize in physics in 1935. Apparently, he was some sort of Great-Uncle or something to Hermione on her mother's side. He died in 1978, but Hermione's mother knew him and told Hermione stories about him."

Maire nodded, slowly absorbing all the information Harry had recited. "Hermione Granger is the only girl I know who would have a crush on a dead physicist." Maire said finally. She looked at Harry. "Be sure you have a nice girl handy, Harry Potter."

Harry suddenly froze, blinking wildly at Maire. He was putting together a lot of clues and not liking the answer he was getting. Maire's look, the timing of the prank and the need for a girl. "Maire, this has something to do with mistletoe, doesn't it?"

Maire just smirked and stood up straight, or as straight as she could get right now. "Just be sure to have a girl nearby, Harry Potter. Right now, I need to find Remus. I have a sudden desire to drag him into bed and make him howl."

Harry winced as Maire staggered off, searching for Remus. Maire was a fun person, but her social graces were very much on the blunt side. Harry pushed the pictures of Maire and Remus out of his head to worry about a far more important problem. What was the 'nice girl' going to have to do?

_**OoOoOoO The whole gang, the Hogwarts Express, 29DEC1991. OoOoOoO**_

"Hey, Potter."

Harry turned as he heard his name being called. He was caught flat-footed as Theo Nott hit him in the nose, knocking Harry down. Harry got up and wiped his nose, seeing blood on his hand. "I swore that you would pay in pain and blood, Potter. My father, on the other hand, says you're not worth the time. My oath demanded something, though. That had to hurt and you are bleeding. I am satisfied. Anything you do now will be taken as feud."

Harry considered Nott as he let Daphne touch his nose with her wand. Daphne was always patching the bruises they got playing and she was much better at it than Harry or Blaise. Draco was nearly as good, but he was holding their compartment while they hunted up the Weasleys. "I think you're wrong, Nott. I played a joke, harmless, if a bit embarrassing. You struck me. I think that qualifies as an escalation in hostilities."

Daphne rapped Harry on the side of his head with her wand. "Drop it, Harry. We have better things to do than feud with the lower classes. Besides, he doesn't even have the resources to feud properly. I believe his family only has a single home and a small vault. It's not even in the low hundreds."

Harry grinned as Nott flushed. The lower your vault number at Gringotts was, the longer your family had held the same vault. Sirius' main vault, the Black vault, was number 69, and only one person Harry knew had a lower number, but then, Madam Morgana's vault had been used for centuries, passed from one Morgana to the next. It was one of the six social status symbols of the Purebloods. Number of homes, Vault number, families related to, Number of Pureblood ancestors, the Age of your family name and Ancestry. These were the things that Purebloods looked at to rank the social status.

Nott's family was fairly new, being only four hundred years old, and Daphne was simply reminding him that he didn't come close to matching Harry's status. Harry sighed. "Fine. I won't tease the animals." He looked at Nott. "We'll call it quits for now, but you had better remember that I will not tolerate any of your torments being tried on my friends. I have heard about some of the things you're doing in your house, and I will not allow you to do those things to my friends."

Nott sneered at Harry but turned away without a word. Harry and the others found the Weasleys and dragged them back to the compartment that Draco was holding for them. They got settled in and Ron spoke up. "Did you hear about Wayne Hopkins? His father was making some sort of Muggle drug under the house and blew it up. Everyone died except Wayne. He was out at the store getting something."

Everyone that hadn't heard looked shocked. Before the conversation could continue, they had a visitor. Oliver Wood came in. "There you are, Potter." Harry blinked as Oliver examined him, evaluating him like a piece of meat at the butcher's counter. "You might just do. Tell me about the necklace you caught."

Harry frowned. "What necklace?"

Ron poked him in the shoulder. "Hermione's necklace, you remember, when Nott tried to jinx her broom."

Harry thought about it. "Oh yeah. It was nothing. A link broke and I caught it."

Oliver grinned. "I'm so glad you feel that way. Gryffindor needs a Seeker."

Harry blinked. "I'm a first year," he reminded Oliver. "I can't even have my broom at school until next year."

Oliver waved that aside. "In the last four hundred and thirty-six years that Quidditch has been played at Hogwarts, twenty-three exceptions to that rule have been made. If you're good enough, it will be made again."

Hermione was looking in "Hogwarts, A History" and started reading. "If he makes the team, he'll be the youngest Seeker in a century and the forty-second person to be the third generation in a row to play Quidditch for the same house."

Oliver looked at Hermione, his eyes narrowed and then he looked at Harry. "Your grandfather played?"

Harry nodded. "He was a Beater."

Oliver was nearly quivering. "And your father was a Chaser. Saturday we have the Pitch for practice. You will be there to try out. I'll have a broom of some sort there for you. If you make it, I'll find, beg, borrow or build you a good Broomstick for the matches."

Harry looked at the rather intense Quidditch fanatic and decided to at least try it. Even if he didn't get on the team this year, it sounded like they'd have a place or two open next year. He agreed to be there.

Oliver looked at Fred and George. "You two will keep him intact. I want him in tiptop shape Saturday. If he's injured between now and then, you will be injured shortly afterwards." Oliver left, throwing one more comment over his shoulder. "Make sure he knows how we play."

Ron was looking at Hermione and her book with new interest. "Hogwarts, A History has Quidditch in it?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, duh. It covers the history of Hogwarts and we do play Quidditch here. Of course it has the statistics and information about the games. It has all sorts of things in it. For instance, the Weasleys are one of just nine families to have every member of their family go to the same house for eight generations."

All three Weasleys stared at her. "Really?" asked Fred and Hermione nodded. "Who are the other families?" he asked curiously.

"The Malfoys, Notts, Lovegoods, Parkinsons, Boots, and four more that have died out."

Harry was thinking about Oliver's offer but was listening to Hermione talk about the families. He asked, "Hermione, are the Potters in there?" Harry had read only bits of the book so far, not being quite as obsessive as Hermione about reading everything she saw.

Hermione looked at the book. "Your father and his father are mentioned in the Quidditch statistics."

Harry frowned at the girl with her face in her book. "Out with it, Hermione. You're hiding something."

Hermione sighed. "Three hundred and sixteen years ago, Seventh year Prefect Archibald Potter made Hogwarts history."

Harry grinned. "Really? What did he do?"

Hermione sighed again. "He became the first and so far, only person to completely wreck an entire wing of the school. According to the book, it took four months of work to fix the damage he did. How he destroyed the wing is not recorded as far as I can tell."

Daphne and Blaise looked at each other and started laughing. "I bet he was experimenting with a potion."

Harry frowned at them as his face flamed. "I am not that bad," he protested weakly.

Blaise agreed with him. "No, you're not like Neville here, who has problems with most potions. But, you must admit Harry, that when you do have a problem, it is always spectacular."

Daphne grinned. "Like the one when you were eight and tried to make a potion that made broccoli taste like chocolate."

George looked interested. "What happened?"

Harry sighed. "I tossed some chocolate and a few other things in the cauldron at random. Two minutes later, it started foaming."

George frowned. "That doesn't sound so bad."

Blaise was grinning. "It started foaming and didn't stop for three weeks. To make it even more fun, as soon as the foam touched anything cold, it froze and became harder than rock. It took nearly two months to get rid of it all."

Daphne smirked. "That was bad enough, but as it filled the potions room, it broke everything in there, including nearly twenty years of stocked potions and elixirs. Father said that little adventure probably cost close to forty thousand Galleons."

Fred and George looked at each other. "Have we ever even come close to that much mayhem?"

"Not even a close second. The wall of our room once, but Charlie fixed that in a hour."

"I'm not sure we should challenge this stunt."

"Too true. We can't afford to pay for that much damage."

The rest of the group watched the back and forth word play with smiles. Harry, in an effort to distract the others from his potions adventures, asked, "did anyone come up with a name for our group over the holidays?"

Everyone had a suggestion or two, except Hermione. Hermione, in her typical way, had sat down and spent a couple of hours carefully researching names, organizations and thinking about what they were going to be doing. The result was a four meter parchment with each possible name laid out along with the reason behind each name.

Ron Weasley stared at her as she showed them the parchment. "Hermione, this isn't a homework assignment."

Hermione coloured, but Harry and Daphne were quick to jump to her defence and Ron shook his head and remained quiet after that.

The group went over the possibilities, throwing out a bunch of names right away. Harry's suggestion that they keep the Marauder name was shot down quickly. Draco was pragmatic about it. "Harry, it's a little hard to hide your membership in a group that the entire world knows your father and his friends started."

Harry was eventually persuaded and the group finally narrowed the choices down to three. Since it was time to get into their school robes, they tabled the discussion for another time.

They were all done as the train began slowing for the arrival. Fred looked at Harry. "What are we blowing up tonight?"

Harry grinned. "Nothing, but I do need a bit of help. I'm going to be passing you all little notes during the feast. They'll be blank, but pretend to read them anyway and then look at me and nod. If you want to send it to another of our group, go ahead. Just be certain that you don't hide the notes."

George frowned thoughtfully. "Is this another of those 'make everyone nervous' things? Like you did to Nott?"

Harry shook his head. "Not exactly. It's a set up for later. I want everyone to get used to seeing us passing notes back and forth, notes that no one else can read. At some point, I'll be using that habit to pass real notes or other things. Sirius and Remus say it worked perfectly when they were in school."

Ron blinked. "That's brilliant." He frowned at Harry. "You plan well, think ahead and are fairly bright. Why can't you play chess better than you do?"

Harry sighed as the others grinned. Harry was the only person in Gryffindor tower that would play chess with Ron on a regular basis. Ron had yet to be beaten by anyone and most people refused to be beaten continuously. Harry though, kept coming back, determined to beat Ron at least once. Ron always gave his full attention to playing Harry, since he was quite sure that if Harry ever did beat him, Harry would stop playing chess with him. Fred and George had a private bet with each other on which would happen first; Harry beating Ron or them finishing school.

George had gotten seven to one odds against Harry beating Ron before the end of Hogwarts.

The feast was not very interesting, as the only thing anyone wanted to talk about was Hopkins. Harry didn't even know what house the first year was in, and he didn't see him at the feast, not that Harry blamed him. By the end of the meal, Harry was beginning to to feel very sorry for the boy.

He hadn't done anything, he'd simply had the bad luck to have some bad people for family. Harry, after listening to Sirius ranting about his family, could relate to that. Harry also knew what it was like to be the centre of unwanted attention. He passed the word to the rest of the group, using a couple of the supposedly blank notes he'd been passing since they sat down. Harry would make a point of hunting the boy up and making sure that he knew that not everyone was against him.

He'd seen the Headmistress give him a very sharp look as she watched the notes go back and forth. Harry thought that she was remembering the Marauders doing the very same thing and he just smiled at her.

At another table, Mordred watched Harry and listened to the gossip. He knew that Wayne Hopkins had not returned to school, that something had changed the boy, who was in the Infirmary tonight, pleading an upset stomach.

Mordred had never intended on losing, but he'd always known that sooner or later, he'd have to give up the Headmaster spot. The school, though, was too great a resource to be wasted and he spent a number of years and thousands of hours casting spells, wards and other useful magic around the school and grounds.

Two of those spells were assisting him now. One masked his presence from any non-human resident of the castle. Not even the Sorting Hat could feel Mordred's mind hiding under the mental thoughts of the boy he had killed. The second was similar in nature and alerted him if anyone's mental feel or aura changed significantly.

That spell had alerted him the instant Wayne Hopkins had stepped on the grounds. Hopkins wasn't home any more and the thing that had taken his place had a very familiar feel. Tom Riddle was back in Hogwarts again. Judging by the look on Harry's face, he was not unsympathetic to the boy. Mordred had spend hours listening to the others talk about the Boy Who Lived, and studying him. He was certain Harry would find the boy in the next few days.

Now, this had possibilities. Mordred was quiet as he considered this new piece on the board.

_**OoOoOoO Harry and Wayne, near the lake, Hogwarts. OoOoOoO**_

"Bit cold to be out here." Now that he'd tracked Wayne Hopkins down, Harry wasn't certain how to talk to him.

"It's warmer out here than in there." Riddle suppressed his urge to jump up and hex Potter right now. The Staff was far more important.

In all of the British Wizard world, there were just six major Artefacts that could change the world. Three came with dangers that made them double edged swords to use or carry. The Deathly Hallows were very powerful and fairly easy, as legendary objects went, to find and get. Their curses, though, made them problematical at best.

Riddle knew where one of them was, it was in his room right now. Tom Riddle had found the Resurrection Stone nearly twenty years ago now and studying it had given him some of the most profound insights he'd ever known.

He would have found it amusingly ironic, had he known that all three of the Hallows were being carried by students right now. Mordred had the Elder Wand, as no one had known that Professor Dumbledore had the Elder Wand and Harry Potter had the Invisibility Cloak.

Only one being knew that they were all here, and the enchantments that bound the Sorting Hat not to reveal anything about a student being sorted kept the Hat from telling Headmistress McGonagall anything. Had the Hat known about the two people possessing the students, he could have said something about them, since they were not students, but Mordred had side stepped that, and Riddle had been smart enough to wait until after the Sorting to possess Wayne.

The Staff of Merlin, The Cauldron of Rebirth and The Stone of Tammarrion. All of them with the power to change the world and all of them missing. At least, until rumours started being whispered around the Aurors, that the Staff of Merlin was the reason that the third floor corridor in Hogwarts was sealed.

If it was here, Voldemort was determined to have it. Wizard myth said that Merlin had cast down the island of Atlantis with it, that it not only focussed a caster's power, but amplified it a hundredfold, allowing even the weakest Wizard to cast any spell he wished, for as long as he wanted, without fear of tiring or failing at the spell.

To someone with Voldemort's power, that Staff could mean the actual physical remaking of the entire island and Voldemort would even let Harry Potter live, if it meant that Riddle would get the Staff.

Harry had been thinking about Wayne's comment and looking at the lake, covered now with a sheet of ice, except in the very centre, where Hagrid fed the giant Squid.

"Sucks, doesn't it? People pointing, whispering, never coming out and talking to you, but always about you, behind you, never to you."

Riddle looked at Potter. "You would know about that, wouldn't you." It wasn't a question and Harry just shrugged. Riddle frowned as he tried to walk the fine line between pushing Harry away and sounding too smart or experienced to be eleven years old.

Tom Riddle was a smart man, a powerful Wizard and a lot of other things, but no one had ever accused him of being an actor. If he'd been better at acting, the other kids in that orphanage so very long ago would never had known what he was doing. Professor Dumbledore would never have suspected him in the Chamber incident. Tom smirked as he thought about that. Professor Dumbledore had been killed just days after that incident. Tom Riddle may very well have been the last student to see the real Professor alive and well.

He set all of that aside. "How did you deal with it?"

Harry shrugged. "It's not quite the same for me. I'm famous for my parents dying, but they did it in a good cause and Saved The Wizard World." Riddle could here the bitter touch on the capital letters in the last four words. "Everyone treats me as if I created and cast that damn spell. They forget that it cost me both of my parents before I ever knew them, and that saving the world be damned, I'd rather have my folks back."

Wayne/Riddle looked at Harry thoughtfully. "You're serious."

Harry nodded, his eyes far away, on a sight only he could see. "If there is one way to destroy something, there are others and one of them could have been used. I would have my parents back and Voldemort wouldn't be returning sooner or later."

Riddle/Wayne jerked, but covered the flinch. "What do you mean, returning?"

Harry sighed. "I have some friends, who believe that Voldemort was not destroyed that night, but simply rendered bodiless and that he will return." Harry was very careful not to refer to Madame Morgana in any way. He was looking out at the lake and missed the expressions that passed over Hopkins' face.

Voldemort cursed silently. That would make his mission that much harder. He really had to find a way to get close to Potter. "So you don't think any less of me, for what my father did?" he asked hesitantly, as if fearing the answer.

Harry turned to look at him. "Did you know about the drugs?"

Wayne/Tom shook his head. "I swear I never heard about anything like that until after it happened," he said honestly. He'd known that his man had a plan to cover the murders and ritual, but he'd left the details to him. Being in the bodiless state had been very draining and most of his energy had been directed at regaining a body to work with.

Harry nodded. "I have a friend, whose father was a Death Eater for Voldemort. He's a good person, despite his father's evil. I will not judge anyone based on their ancestor's actions." Harry smiled sheepishly. "To be honest, until this happened, I didn't even know you were here. Now that I've met you, I vaguely remember seeing you around, but you're never caused anyone I know any problems, so you can't be that bad."

Voldemort/Hopkins nearly choked. If Potter only knew who was sitting next to him. "Thanks, Potter."

Harry stood up. "I'm usually in the second floor classrooms in the west tower after dinner. Drop by and study, if you want." Harry hesitated. "Or drop by to talk."

Wayne/Tom had a sudden thought. How would his life have been different if Potter and he had met in Riddle's real childhood? He shook that thought off. Such foolishness was for dreamers and simpletons. Life was a search for power, nothing else. "I might just do that, Potter."

Harry smiled faintly. "My name's Harry."

"Wayne."

Harry frowned as he walked away. If this headache didn't go away soon, he'd go see Madame Pomfrey. He'd had a mild headache since he returned to Hogwarts after the holidays and it was getting worse right now.

Harry hadn't thought about his scar in several months and never realized that the headache he felt was centred on the scar.

_**OoOoOoO Harry and the Quidditch team, The Pitch, 30DEC1991. OoOoOoO**_

Harry sat on the borrowed broom and wondered just when he'd lost his mind. It was a typical late December day in Scotland, meaning cold and windy, and here he was trying, trying to find a tiny golden ball that was trying to avoid him.

Oliver was flying nearby, and the Quidditch Captain's silent study of every move and motion Harry made was utterly unnerving. He tried to put it out of his mind as he searched the pitch for the Snitch. He caught a motion out of the corner of his eye and instinctively ducked as a Bludger flew by him.

He glared at a grinning Weasley twin and made a mental note to pay that back. He climbed a bit higher and began searching the air again. He got a glimpse of something gold and he was arrowing in that direction even as he saw it.

In the Headmistress' office Moody smirked. "I told you. The boy can fly. Potter is possibly the best natural flyer I've ever seen. Pay up."

Professor McGonagall sighed and handed the smirking Gryffindor house head five galleons. "Now," Moody said with an evil smirk, "I am going to prove his skill in a way that no one will ever be able to deny."

The Headmistress frowned at him. "What are you going to do?"

Moody snickered. "Harry gave me a beard, even if I can't prove it, and he'll never be able to prove I spelled the snitch to avoid him any way possible, as long as it stays in the Pitch."

Outside, Harry had forgotten all about the other people on the Pitch as he chased the elusive Snitch. The thing seemed to be possessed as it spun, dove, climbed and made sharp turns in odd directions. Harry had been to a few Quidditch matches, and he'd never seen one act this way.

Somewhere in the back of his head, he was wondering if it had been spelled, but Harry's focus right then was on the Snitch and closing the gap between him and the ball.

The rest of the team had stopped to watch Harry chasing the Snitch. Alicia gasped as Harry chased the thing into the stands, ducking under the supports and weaving in and out of them on the trail of the Snitch.

Fred and George were simply staring. They knew Harry had a flying Animagus shape, but this was something more. Oliver was the first one to put it in words. "Look at him, he's turning almost as soon as the Snitch is."

Once Oliver said it, the others could see it. The Snitch would make a turn, and Harry would be turning with it, cutting inside and closing another few centimetres. Despite being fifty times the size of the Snitch and having to follow its lead on a rather inferior Broomstick, Harry was slowly closing up the distance and catching up to the golden ball.

Harry was oblivious to everything except the tiny winged ball in front of him. He pushed the Broomstick a bit harder, milking it for a bit more speed. He went up, following the Snitch toward the right side goals and threw the Broomstick sideways, driving into a slew turn.

Gasps and outright screams rose from the spectators and the rest of the team. Harry was turned sideways to the goalpost and heading for it at an extremely high speed and everyone thought he was going to embed himself in the post.

Harry pushed the broom harder, knowing, without knowing how he knew, that the Snitch was going to cut hard left right after the goal post and Harry was there. He held the Golden Snitch up and flew down to Oliver. The Quidditch team and Harry's friends had gathered on the pitch.

Harry slid off the broom, handing it to its owner, Michael Spinner, who was staring at Harry with an odd expression. Harry didn't even notice as he turned to his friends. "Did you see that? That was great, not even Sirius can give me a challenge like that in the air." Harry's eyes were glowing with enthusiasm and he was grinning from ear to ear, a grin that disappeared as Daphne and Hermione burst into tears. Hermione just ran off but Daphne stopped to punch him in the shoulder first, before following the other girl.

Harry turned to the others with such a look of puzzlement that Ron choked down a laugh. "What did I do?"

"You mean besides nearly killing yourself?" asked Spinner calmly. "I'm sorry, Oliver, but if that's how he flies, you'll have to find another broom to use. I will not contribute to Potter's death."

Harry frowned. "I didn't do that bad, did I?"

Oliver was smiling. "You were great, Harry, except that last turn, next to the goals. You cut it a bit too close."

Harry shrugged. "I'm still here."

Oliver nodded happily. "That's the spirit. Now we'll have to see about a Broomstick, a Nimbus at least. You need a bit more power than a ten year old Cleansweep.

Blaise held up his hand. "Hold it. Harry, you have got to be more careful or I'll inform Sirius you're being insanely reckless."

Harry bristled. "How can you tell? I was just flying."

Michael Spinner held out his broom silently. The twigs at the end of the broom were torn and splintered for nearly an inch. "Harry, you threw sparks from the goal, and it takes a lot of damage to make a broomstick throw sparks, you know that."

Harry did, as did everyone who rode a broom. Sparks coming from your broom was considered the last sign of a dying Broom and no one wanted to ride a sparking Broom. He looked at Spinner. "I am sorry about your Broom. I'll pay for repairs or a new one."

Spinner looked at the broom, Harry and then Oliver, who was talking to the twins and waving his arms wildly. He got a sudden smile. "I'll call it even, if you'll do something for me." Harry cocked his head. Michael bent close and whispered in Harry's ear. Harry's eyes went wide and then he started smiling as he looked at Oliver.

Fred and George were silently suffering though another Wood monologue, as he dissected everything Harry had down in the air and how this changed their chances against this team or that team.

"Thanks for the try out, Captain." Harry's face was bland and warning bells went off in the twins' heads. "I had fun, and I'm sure it will be fun to play next year, but I have too much new stuff to deal with this year." Harry turned and started toward the edge of the Pitch as Oliver processed what he'd just heard.

Fred and George watched Ollie's mouth open and close a few times and his face go pale. They saw Spinner taking pictures and they knew what was going on.

"POTTER!!" Despite knowing it was coming, Harry still jumped at the bellow that broke from Oliver's mouth. "jkshdpjkbnfvjndkcknx!! rkfhnrpuibhenc?! kijdewihnc!!"

Oliver was so flustered at the thought of losing this Seeker that he was speaking as fast as he thought, but no one's tongue was ever meant to say five things at once and incoherent babbling was all Harry heard. He watched Oliver wave his arms wildly for a few minutes, snickering as he realized that Oliver's babbling and his arms were in an odd synchronization.

Harry flicked a glance at Michael who grinned and held up his camera. Harry looked at Oliver. "Well," he said calmly, pretending to consider it, "if it's that important, I guess I could spare you an hour or so a week. This wouldn't interfere with my studies, will it? It is, after all, only a game." Harry turned and walked away, bringing a book from somewhere and starting to read as he left.

Fred and George blinked. Alicia, Katie and Angelina blinked. In all their time on the team, in all the time they'd known Ollie, on or off the Pitch, this was the first time they'd ever seen him rendered speechless.

Michael caught up with Harry at the doors to Hogwarts. "That was perfect, Potter. I'll treasure that memory forever."

Harry grinned. "I want a favour, for such an excellent memory. I want copies of those pictures."

Michael nodded. "Done. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some film to develop and blow-ups to deal with." He walked away, smiling. Harry heard him mutter, "A silent Wood. Why didn't I do that before?"

_**OoOoOoO Harry and the others, the common room, New Years' Eve. OoOoOoO**_

"Hermione, I need a favour."

Hermione raised her head from her book and studied Harry. He was red faced and sweating, nervous in a way she'd never seen before. This should be interesting. "Yes, Harry?"

Harry took a deep breath and said, "Maire made a potion and I got some on me and it's going to go off at midnight and she says I need a nice girl near by to take it off and Daphne is in Hufflepuff and she has to take it off of Blaise anyway so I was wondering if you would help me with whatever Maire's prank is going to do."

Hermione winced. "That was possibly the most mangled sentence I've ever heard from you, Harry. Have you been taking lessons from Ron?"

Ron, who was sitting nearby, raised his head and looked offended. "Oi! My language is not that bad."

Harry was still watching Hermione. "What am I going to have to do, exactly?"

Harry shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. Maire only said that I need a nice girl and you're the nicest girl in Gryffindor."

Neville, Ron, Fred and George looked at each other. The smiles that blossomed on all their faces would have sent brave men running.

"Would you repeat that, Harry?" asked George with a manic grin.

"Please," added Fred, "because I could have sworn you said Hermione is the nicest girl in Gryffindor."

Harry closed his eyes as Lavender and two of her friends started giggling and whispering. He opened them again but before he could say anything, Hermione touched his hand. "Don't mind them, Harry. I'd be glad to help you."

Harry smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks, Hermione. You're the best."

Fresh giggles erupted from the Gryffindor part of the Brainless Brigade, as Harry called the girls more interested in the state of their robes and hair than anything else. Harry sighed. "I'm never going to hear the end of that," he said morosely.

Hermione tucked her head down slightly, and looked at Harry intently. "Is there something wrong with being nice, Harry?"

Harry looked at her, and recognized the signs. Hermione was gearing up for an argument. He'd seen her and Ron at this too many times to mistake that look. "Being nice? No, but they will have us dating and looking for broom closets by this time tomorrow, as if we were controlled by our hormones and not our minds."

Fred and George snickered. "Just wait a couple of years, Harry. You won't be so disparaging about those closets then."

Hermione frowned at them. "You should know," she said tartly, "considering the number of times you've been inspecting the various closets."

Silence spend across their end of the room as everyone in hearing stared at the twins, who were rapidly turning a deep red.

Angelina and Alicia were very interested. "I don't think you've taken me on that many closet inspections," they told their respective boyfriends. "So just who have you been inspecting closets with?"

Hermione grinned at Harry as they watched the twins being interrogated by their girlfriends. Harry smiled back, glad to be out of the limelight. "How did you know they'd been in that many closets, anyway?"

Hermione smirked. "I don't. They have those reputations though, and I knew that no one would believe them, if they denied it."

Harry frowned, the humour lost for a minute. "You lied?"

Hermione shook her head. "I said they had been inspecting the closets a number of times. I never said what that number was."

Harry snickered. "Remind me to stay on your good side, Miss Granger. You have a mean streak when you want to get someone."

_**OoOoOoO Harry and Hermione, The Common Room, Midnight. 31DEC1991 OoOoOoO**_

Promptly at midnight, a huge bunch of mistletoe appeared floating over Harry's head. He looked at it with a sigh. It was a large bunch of Mistletoe with five small red berries right in the middle of it. He and Hermione tried removing it with a few spells and counter charms, but nothing worked.

Hermione blushed. "Hold still. She leaned over and kissed Harry on the cheek.

The Mistletoe swung over and floated over Hermione's head. One of the berries had disappeared. They looked at each other. Harry blushed even deeper than Hermione had, and kissed her on the cheek.

The mistletoe returned to its original place over Harry's head and another berry was gone.

The rest of the common room was erupting in catcalls and advice as everyone watched Harry and Hermione.

Harry and Hermione, having prudently cast a silencing spell around themselves for this, didn't even hear the commotion, although they both knew they'd be hearing about it tomorrow. And the day after that, the day after that and basically, for the near future.

Hermione had kissed Harry's cheek twice and Harry had kissed Hermione's cheek twice so only a single berry remained. Maire's voice came from the sprig of plant. "No more playing, my friends. To make the last berry go away, you have to have a good lip lock."

Harry and Hermione stared at each other. As one, they renewed their attempts to remove the bush. After twenty minutes Maire's voice sounded again. "You're taking far too long. In three minutes, it will take bare skin contact to get rid of the last berry."

Harry winced. "I swear, that woman has no tact at all."

Hermione sighed. "It won't be that bad," she said, in the tone of a woman who knows she's lying and can't even pretend she was having fun.

Harry looked at Hermione. "You know I wouldn't do this to you, don't you? You're too nice to be playing jokes like this on."

Hermione smiled at Harry. "I know. We'd better get it other with."

Harry leaned toward Hermione and their lips touched. Harry absently noted that Hermione was wearing some sort of lip stuff with a strange flavour he didn't recognize and that she closed her eyes when she kissed.

Hermione wasn't noticing anything at first, concentrating on doing this right, like the book had suggested. It was only after a second that she realized that Harry's lips weren't as soft as hers. They weren't hard, but they were firm and warm, warmer still from the blush radiating from both of them.

"Wonderful," and they jumped as Maire's voice came again. "Now, you just have one more little thing to do."

Harry and Hermione blinked at each other, their eyes widening as they feared the worst was coming.

"Go and touch someone else, and transfer the Kissing Bush to another victim. Both of you are contagious for the next two minutes."

Harry and Hermione stared at each other and then turned to face the still laughing Gryffindors in the common room. Because of the Silencing charm Hermione had put up, none of the others knew about the contagion. Harry and Hermione shared a grin and attacked.

_**OoOoOoO Harry and the group, the Study Room, 02Jan1992. OoOoOoO**_

"Hey, Potter, show me that thing you did in DADA, will you?"

Harry looked up from his Transfiguration text. "Which one?" he asked Wayne Hopkins. Wayne had been in the study rooms before the holidays, but not often. Since the holidays, when he'd lost his entire family, he was often found wandering the halls or studying.

He was a lot more quiet than he had been, but that was deemed only natural, given the horrible tragedy of his holidays. "That mirrored shield thing. I've never seen that one before."

Harry nodded and led the way to the section of the room they'd blocked off for DADA practice. It had only taken a couple of stray curses to show them that a physical shield was needed. He showed Wayne the shielding spell Maire had shown him. It would reflect a curse sending it back at the caster.

It was a good shield, but it took a lot of power to cast and was generally taught in seventh year. Harry blinked as Wayne cast it perfectly on his third try. Wayne saw his look and shrugged. "I've been doing a lot of work on shields recently. I keep thinking about how close it was. If I hadn't gone to the store for milk."

Harry nodded. Coming that close to death would be a life altering experience. Wayne was still practising the shield when Harry went back to his studies.

_**OoOoOoO Wayne and Mordred, Hogwarts, 03JAN1992. OoOoOoO**_

The young boy that had been Wayne Hopkins walked down the corridor, thinking about the third floor corridor. A late night examination of the entrance to the area showed a great deal of magic around it and a large life form on the other side.

His musings were interrupted as a spell froze him in place. He was levitated into an empty classroom, facing the wall and unable to move.

Voldemort's mental defences were nothing to the mind behind him.

"Good to see you again, Riddle. I am going to make you an offer you had better not refuse."

_**OoOoOoO The Author, Here and Now. OoOoOoO**_

_Hehehehe... Happy Samhain my friends, or Samain, Halloween, whatever you call this day._

_National Novel Writing Month starts tomorrow and I will not be putting anything out until I have finished that._

_I highly suggest you try it for yourself... I would never have believed that I could write fifty thousand words in a single month if I hadn't done it last year._

_Go to www, NaNoWriMo, org and check it out._

_See you in about three weeks, with SOG12 and PoE5_

_Raven_


	8. Lessons, Quidditch, and Headaches

_Here we go again. Harry is blissfully unaware of the trouble coming his way, courtesy of Mordred and Riddle. For those of you that don't remember, during the winter holidays Wayne Hopkins was killed and Riddle took his place. Right now, only one other person at Hogwarts knows that Wayne is not Wayne, and Mordred is plotting something with him. That being the story, let's go see what Harry is up to._

_Disclaimer: Look. I know that you people are slightly smarter than a box of rocks. Do you really need me to remind you in every chapter that I don't own this stuff, that I'm not making any money from writing this story and that it's strictly a bit of amusement for me and hopefully, you? I hope not._

_**Harry Potter and the Bonds of Blood**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

_**Lessons, Quidditch and Headaches**_

_**OoOoOoO Harry, The Quidditch Pitch, 15JAN92. OoOoOoO**_

It was cold and windy two hundred feet above the pitch, and Harry was very glad that Hermione knew a good warming charm. Harry knew a few more charms than Hermione but most of his did things to people besides keep them warm. He ducked as a Bludger came by his head and cut sharply left, trying to lose the Slytherin Beater following him around the pitch. The Slytherins had apparently decided that if Harry was good enough to get a special dispensation to play in his first year, they needed to make sure he had other things to think about than finding the Snitch.

One of the Beaters had been on his tail since the match began. Harry saw the other Seeker near the Gryffindor goals and shot off in that direction. Maybe if he was closer to the other Seeker, the Beaters would be less willing to to send Bludgers his way. Harry was speeding up when he saw a glint of gold off to his right.

He cut sharply, trying to keep the Snitch in sight, aware that the Slytherin Seeker was following him. Harry smirked. Sirius had been overjoyed to hear that Harry had been picked for the Gryffindor team. He'd had Hedwig deliver a Nimbus 2000 the very next day. Harry had been shocked. He had asked Sirius to send his old broomstick, a Comet 260 and he'd never expected Sirius to spend this kind of money on a broomstick.

Harry was pulling up, nearly to the Snitch, when a fast moving something in the corner of his eye made him swerve. The Bludger sped just over his head and Harry nearly swore. He'd lost sight of the Snitch. He checked the Slytherin Seeker, but he was cruising again, his head turning as he tried to find the Snitch.

Harry looked down and saw the Slytherin Chasers forming up for a run at the Gryffindor goals right below him. He grinned and dropped.

Harry saw Marcus Flint look up and start to shout, but it was too late as Harry dropped between Flint and one of the other Chasers, scattering them and then scattering them more as a Bludger followed Harry. Harry shot off down the field, hearing Oliver Wood cheering him. "That's the way, Harry. Keep them on their toes."

Harry was about to go higher when he saw the Slytherin Seeker coming down and he looked in that direction. The Snitch was barely a metre off the ground, heading toward the Slytherin goals at the other end of the field. Harry shot down the field, watching the Snitch and the Slytherin Seeker coming down from his higher position.

The Slytherin Seeker was mounted on a good broomstick and had a head start, but Harry's broom was just a shade faster.

"Watch out, Harry!"

Harry had seen the Beater closing to his left but he'd ignored him since the Bludgers were much higher up and being batted by the Weasleys right now. He glanced over, trying to look at the Snitch and the Beater at the same time.

The Beater was right next to him and Harry cut over just a bit as the Beater put on a burst of speed and passed over Harry. An instant later, Harry's eyes were watering and burning. He half way shut them, squinting as he followed the blurry shape of gold just a metre or so in front of him.

Too late, Harry saw the shadow coming in from above. He made a desperate lunge and felt the Snitch in his hand as the Slytherin Seeker crashed into him and they had a short flight that ended with both of then hitting the Pitch and tumbling across the field. Harry pitched up against the stadium wall with an ominous crack.

Harry passed out as pain flared up his arm and side.

_**OoOoOoO Harry's friends, the Quidditch stands, 15JAN92. OoOoOoO**_

Hermione had heard a lot about Quidditch in the last three weeks since Oliver Wood had chosen Harry to replace the Seeker that had quit to study for the NEWTs. Hermione completely understood that. An education was far more important than a game after all. She'd said that once and Ron had nearly had a stroke trying to convince her that Quidditch was more than 'just a game'.

She looked at him. Ron was watching the game and explaining what the players were doing as the game went along. Hermione was listening, but the only player she was watching was Harry. She had seen the list of injuries in 'Hogwarts, A History', but she hadn't thought anything about it until she'd seen the first Bludger nearly hit Harry. She had watched him flying after that with her hands tightly clenched, trying not to scream at each near hit of a Bludger.

When Harry and the other Seeker had collided, she nearly fainted. She rushed down to the Pitch with the rest of Harry's friends. When they got there, Madame Pomfrey was examining the other Seeker. "Bumps and bruises. He'll be fine when he wakes up," was her verdict and she turned her attention to Harry.

As she started to cast a spell to examine Harry with, his shirt began moving and jumping. Madame Pomfrey stared at it for a second and then reached under Harry's shirt. An instant later, she brought the Snitch out of his shirt. "He caught the Snitch, although I don't know if using your shirt is legal or not."

Ron Weasley frowned, thinking about it. "I don't think there are any rules about how a Seeker can catch the Snitch," he said thoughtfully. "He can use his gloves, which are part of the uniform, and the shirt is just another part of the uniform."

Hermione huffed at Ron. "Will you shut up about the game? Harry's hurt."

Ron blinked and looked at Harry. "I know that. There's nothing I can do about it, and I have to think about something else, or I'll go spare and start snapping at people."

Hermione stared at him for a second and then realized she'd done exactly that. "Sorry."

Both of them were distracted then as Madame Pomfrey stood up and looked at Professor Moody. "He's broken his arm and has a couple of cracked ribs, but he'll be fine tomorrow. Can I get some assistance taking these two to the Infirmary?"

Professor Moody and Madame Pomfrey levitated the two boys and began the walk to the Infirmary. Hermione stayed next to Harry. Ron, Neville and Daphne were following them as well, while Blaise went to get Harry's stuff from the changing room.

Headmistress McGonagall met them in the Infirmary where she made them all stand back while Madame Pomfrey worked on Harry. She cast a couple of spells on him and then got some potions from the still room. She woke Harry then and had him drink them. Harry blinked a couple of times and looked around. "Did we win?" was his first question, followed by, "Where am I?"

"Gryffindor did win the match, Mr. Potter." Professor McGonagall's voice was sombre, but Madame Pomfrey could hear the undercurrent of amusement. "As for your location, you are in the Hogwarts Infirmary. I hope that you will not make a habit of coming here after each Quidditch match, Mr. Potter. I would have to reconsider the wisdom of allowing you to play."

Ron went wide-eyed at that comment. "But Harry's the best Seeker in the house. We need him."

Headmistress McGonagall looked at Ron and frowned. "Mr. Weasley, I am fully aware of Mr. Potter's value to Gryffindor's Quidditch team, but I will not allow that to override my concerns about the safety of one of my students."

Harry was starting to fall asleep under the influence of the potions and Hermione turned to Madame Pomfrey. "He'll be OK, won't he?"

The healer nodded. "He will. His injuries were minor."

Hermione blinked as she thought about what the healer had just said. In the world she knew, a broken arm and cracked ribs were a bit more than minor. The arm would be in a cast for a few weeks at least, although the ribs would heal quicker. This would need some research she decided.

She took a last look at Harry, who was sleeping peacefully and turned back to Madame Pomfrey. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?" she asked in a tone that her friends recognized.

Daphne and Blaise just sighed. Hermione had used that very tone when she had 'questioned' them about Wizard ways. At least, Hermione had called it 'asking a few questions'. Blaise had called it an inquisition and Daphne, who was somewhat nicer than Blaise, refused to discuss it at all.

Hermione wanted to know everything. That, in and of itself, was not a bad thing. Hermione did not, however, have any sense of time when she was researching something and was perfectly willing to ask questions and talk for hours on end about any project she was working on.

To every other eleven year old with normal attention spans for their age, she was insane. It had not gotten to the point that anyone had yelled at her about it yet, but for Ron and Blaise, it had been a very close thing a couple of times. Ron looked at Hermione and her parchment and shook his head. "I'm getting out of here," he told the others. "At least she won't be after us for a day or two, until she gets whatever information about healing she wants."

He started toward the door and the rest of the group followed him. They had Madame Pomfrey's assurance that Harry would be fine and there was no reason to watch him sleep. Daphne interrupted Hermione long enough to ask Madame Pomfrey to let her know if there were any changes and caught up with the rest just before they reached the classroom they used for study.

Inside, they could hear someone using the warded room where they practised spells. They settled down to chat, just general talk about the match and other things as all of their work for the weekend was done.

Professor Moody came in a few minutes later. He was about to say something when his magical eye stopped spinning and focussed on the warded spell room. "How long has Mr. Hopkins been working with you?" he asked abruptly.

Daphne looked up and followed the direction of his gaze. "Since Harry invited him after the holidays. I think Harry felt sorry for him, what with all the talk and everything."

"I see." Moody continued to watch the room for a minute. "I've just finished talking to the Slytherin Seeker. He claims that someone jinxed his broomstick, that crashing into Harry was not his fault."

The group looked at Moody and then each other. "That doesn't make any sense," Draco said thoughtfully. "Why would anyone want to hurt the Seekers? I might understand a Slytherin trying to take Harry out of the game, but they wouldn't endanger their own Seeker."

"I can think of one possibility," Moody said grimly. "What if someone wasn't trying to take the Seekers out of the match, but trying to seriously injure one person?"

Draco was the first to understand what Moody was saying. "You think that someone was trying to hurt Harry, and simply didn't care if he hurt the Slytherin Seeker in the process."

Moody nodded. "Too many people know about the limits of Harry's protection. No spell aimed at Harry can kill him, but if you do something to a person near Harry, like sending another flyer out of control next to him, he could get hurt or killed."

The group sat in silent thought for a few minutes and then Draco shook his head. "Nott wouldn't have done it, even if he knew a spell that could. He's been convinced by his family not to pursue that feud of his. I don't think Harry has any other serious enemies here. Who does that leave?"

Blaise shrugged. "The list of Harry's enemies is about a kilometre long. The Lestranges, Pettigrew, all the surviving Death Eaters, Voldemort and possibly a few more I can't think of right now."

Moody grimaced. His eye was still fixed on the room where Hopkins continued to cast shields and hexes. "Most of those people can't get into the school, although it could be a child of a Death Eater, trying to make points with their parents. I want you all to keep an eye on Harry." He turned toward the door. "In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt you to keep up on the lessons Maire and Sirius were giving you when Remus wasn't around."

Draco, Blaise and Daphne blushed as Ron looked confused. He looked at the others. Draco saw his confusion and looked around. No one was close and he looked at Ron. "Sirius and Maire think that Remus was being a bit too cautious in teaching us to defend ourselves, so they've been teaching us some more advanced defence than Remus wanted. You will keep that to yourself."

Ron blinked and stared at Draco. "You have been learning things more advanced than the stuff Harry is showing everyone?"

Draco nodded and looked up as the sounds of spells stopped in the warded room. "Later."

Ron looked frustrated but kept quiet as Wayne Hopkins came out of the warded room. "Is Harry going to be OK?" he asked. "I saw the match, but came up here right after it. This was likely to be the only time the room would be empty for some practise."

"Harry will be fine," Daphne said shortly. "He'll be back with us at breakfast."

Wayne smiled. "Good. I was hoping he wouldn't be hurt too badly." Wayne headed toward the door. "See you all later. I'm going to go get a shower."

Blaise was frowning at Daphne as he left. "Why are you so abrupt with Wayne? You act as if he's a git."

Ron looked at him, puzzled. "She was polite to him," he protested.

Blaise shook his head. "Maybe to outward appearances, but to those of us that have known her forever, she has been blatantly cold to him."

Daphne shrugged, looking up as Hermione came in, her nose in a large book. "I don't know. Something about him makes my flesh crawl. I don't know what it is, or why, but he's disturbing for some reason." She frowned. "I'm trying to hide it, since Harry likes him, but he's, he's, I don't know how to explain it."

Draco frowned. "I don't like him either, but it's because he reminds me of many of the Purebloods I know. Most of the time, he's just another boy, but sometimes, he does things that make me remember the gatherings of the Death Eaters."

Blaise frowned. "I hadn't noticed any of that, but with this incident today, perhaps we should keep a quiet eye on him."

Hermione looked up from her book. "I can't believe some of the things Wizards can fix. Draco, can you help me make this potion?" She passed the book to Draco.

Draco looked at the potion that Hermione's finger was on. He read it and looked up. "It is fairly easy, we could do it easily, except that this one ingredient is expensive and hard to find. If you can get some powdered Boomslang skin, we can do it."

Hermione frowned. "How much is Boomslang skin?"

Draco shrugged. "Twenty Galleons an ounce. The Boomslang population is falling, and the skins are getting harder to find."

Hermione frowned, making the calculations in her head. "Drat. I guess it will have to wait."

Blaise looked at Hermione's disappointed face. "What does the potion do?"

Hermione blushed and muttered something. Draco shook his head at Blaise as she buried her head in the book again. Blaise and Daphne looked at each other, wondering what was going on.

_**OoOoOoO Mad-Eye Moody, Gryffindor Head of House Quarters, 15JAN92. OoOoOoO**_

Moody frowned as he thought about Wayne Hopkins. The boy had shown an amazing range and knowledge of spells in that room. He had not shown that kind of skill in any classes or one of the teachers would have said something about it.

He was hiding his knowledge and that made Moody suspicious. The boy had used a particular combination of spells at one point that Moody had seen before. None of them were Dark by themselves, but in combination, they would seriously injure a person and probably kill them.

That in itself was not completely suspicious, but Moody remembered where he'd seen that combination of spells before. The Death Eaters used it in the early days, back before they had gotten enough experience with fighting to vary their spells.

That was very suspicious to Moody. The chances of a simple young boy stumbling on a four spell combination that just happened to duplicate a common Death Eater training set was far too slim for Moody to believe it was strictly coincidence.

He used his Floo to have a talk with Kingsley Shacklebolt. He asked Kingsley to check into Hopkins' past, to see if the boy had any Death Eater family members that might have taught him the spells.

After that, Moody sat back and thought. He looked at the clock and frowned. It was too late to be waking Harry in the Infirmary, but he could go by the houses and see if any of the others were still awake. He wanted to warn them about the boy, and make sure they watched out for Harry.

Moody got up and started out the door. Neville was unlikely to still be awake, but Gryffindor was the closest house. He was thinking about the entire situation as he closed the door and started down the hallway.

_**OoOoOoO Mordred, the first year's room, 15JAN92. OoOoOoO**_

Mordred swore as he listened to Moody's Floo call. One of the spells he'd cast during his years as Headmaster allowed him to listen to any Floo call in the castle. Moody was going to ruin Mordred's plans with Riddle and Potter if he was allowed to investigate the boy.

He got up and cast a spell over the room that would insure his room mates slept until he returned. He dressed swiftly and Disillusioned himself before slipping out the door. He stopped in the hallway out side of his dorms to pull a battered parchment from his robes.

He smirked at the irony of using a slightly different version of the Marauder's Map to check on the players in tonight's little drama. He touched the map and it blossomed into the halls and rooms of Hogwarts. Unlike the original map, this one showed the Professor's rooms and the Headmaster's quarters.

Mordred had gotten the idea listening to the Marauders make the first map. He looked at it. Wayne Hopkins was in his common room in Hufflepuff. From his location, he was sitting at one of the small tables. Susan Bones was sitting across from him. They might be playing a game or simply studying. That was perfect. No one could say anything about him, if he was in his house when this happened.

He checked the map for the other people that would be in the halls at this time. A few older students returning from the Astronomy Tower, the seventh year Slytherin Prefects on patrol and Filch on the sixth floor.

He found Moody just coming out of the Gryffindor common room and hurried down the hall, looking at the map occasionally to make sure he avoided everyone except one person.

He disillusioned himself just before starting up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room. Half-way up the stairs he jumped as Moody's voice came from the stairs above him. "It's a bit late for you to be out, lad. What are you doing here?"

Mordred blushed and ducked his head. "Um, I was going to the owlery," he said, avoiding Moody's eyes.

"Hogwash, lad. Tell me what you were doing, or I'll have you doing detention until the end of the year."

"It's a bet, Sir. The Weasley twins got me to bet them that I wouldn't go to the East Tower in the middle of the night."

Moody blinked, staring at the boy. "You accepted a bet to go to the Bloody Baron's tower at night? I thought somebody from your house would be smarter than that. You go back to your House, lad. I'll deal with the Weasleys in the morning."

Mordred hesitated for a second and Moody frowned. "Go now, or I may change my mind about those detentions. In fact, I'll walk you to your House, just to make sure you don't get lost."

Mad-Eye Moody had practised Constant Vigilance for more than fifty years, and even now, he was watching the boy in front of him and scanning the area with his magical eye. Had the boy or any one else made a suspicious movement, he would have Hexed first and asked questions of the survivors.

The body Mordred was inhabiting though, didn't even have his wand, and so Moody assigned him a lower threat value. After all, everyone knew that it took years to develop significant wandless casting ability, and this boy was eleven.

Moody started down the stairs and as he came even with Mordred, Mordred froze him with a short term wandless paralysing spell and shoved him hard. He was turning away even as Moody toppled over the railing.

_**OoOoOoO Mr. Filch and Mrs. Norris, the main hall, 16JAN92. OoOoOoO**_

Mr. Filch was a Squib, a fact most of the staff knew and many of the older students. He couldn't cast spells, but he had enough magic to see magical effects and have a familiar. Mrs. Norris had been his familiar for more than fifteen years, well past the normal lifespan of a cat and in that time they had grown to know each other better than most people with a familiar bond. He could feel her emotional state anywhere in Hogwarts.

Just after midnight, she became disturbed and he headed for the main hallway into Hogwarts. This wasn't the way she felt when students were out of bounds, and it wasn't filth, she was too upset for that.

It took him just two minutes to get there from the North tower. Twenty-five years of cleaning and caring for Hogwarts had taught him more about the castle and its short cuts than anyone else had ever known.

He came into the hall and saw the form laying on the floor and Mrs. Norris prowling around it.

He came up and didn't have to touch the body. The spreading pool of blood told him everything. He looked at the person and repressed a shudder. Moody's magic eye was still spinning slowly in its socket, despite the damage to his skull and the warped shape of his head.

Mr. Filch swore and picked up Mrs. Norris. Stroking her ears, he sighed. "Snoddy," he called softly.

A few seconds later a House Elf appeared from around the corner. "Mr. Filch is calling Snoddy?"

"Go to the Headmistress and tell her we have a serious problem in the hall. Bring her here and then get Madame Pomfrey."

Snoddy looked past Mr. Filch and his eyes widened. "Right away. Snoddy goes now." The House Elf disappeared and Mr. Filch sighed again. It wasn't common, but people occasionally fell from the moving stairs, although this was the first time someone had died from the fall.

Professor McGonagall was there in less than ten minutes. She hesitated for a second when she saw the body but continued until she saw who it was. She stopped and looked at Moody. She looked up and frowned.

"I found him right here about fifteen minutes ago, Headmistress. I was in the north tower and Mrs. Norris actually found him. There hasn't been anybody out of bounds tonight, it's been quiet until now. Snoddy is waking Madame Pomfrey right now. What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing for now, Mr. Filch. Thank you for your prompt action. Make sure none of the students come in here until Professor Moody is gone." Headmistress McGonagall was thinking about something else and answered him automatically.

Mr. Filch left and she looked up again. She sent a small message off and was still looking up when Madame Pomfrey arrived. Madame Pomfrey ignored her to go to Moody. She looked at Professor McGonagall after just a few seconds. "He died of the impact. It appears that he landed on his head."

Minerva McGonagall nodded slowly. "It does, doesn't it? Would you take Professor Moody's body to the Infirmary, please? I have to notify his next of kin and the Aurors." Professor McGonagall looked at Madame Pomfrey. "Can you tell how far he fell?"

Poppy Pomfrey looked at Moody again and looked up. She pulled her wand and cast a spell around the old Auror's head. She studied the colours for a minute and looked up again. "He fell from the second or third floor. I would say, given that he didn't have time to cast a spell, that it must have been the second floor, or mid-way up the stairs at most."

The Headmistress nodded. "That will be all, Poppy. Thank you."

She turned and began walking toward her office. She walked slowly, thinking about what had happened. On the surface, this appeared to be a simple accident. However, Minerva was finding that hard to believe. She went into her office and told two of the portraits to find out if any of the portraits had been awake and had seen anything. After that, she activated on of the charms cast over the school for the Headmaster's use. Ten minutes later she came out of the spell frowning. All of the students were where they should be, except for Harry Potter, still in the Infirmary, and Sheila Fizzlenip, the second year Hufflepuff that was in the Infirmary with Harry, having had an accident in Herbology.

The portraits came back and reported that none of the other portraits had seen anything peculiar. Professor Moody had been in the Gryffindor common room and he had left there after a few minutes, having talked to the Weasley twins. Professor McGonagall made a note to talk to the Weasley twins in the morning and find out why Moody had been talking to them.

She looked up as the gargoyle announced a visitor. Madame Pomfrey and Selena Lovegood came in and sat down. "Professor Moody is in the Infirmary. Mr. Potter was awake when we came in, despite the potions and he saw the body. He is very upset. I gave him another potion and he should sleep until morning. Of course, I would have said that he would have slept all night before."

Selena Lovegood was watching one of the strange devices spin. "I find it very odd that Professor Moody could fall to his death."

Minerva McGonagall nodded slowly. "So do I, but I also find it impossible to believe that he was taken by surprise and killed without a fight. Alastair Moody was not the kind of person to be surprised like that." The Headmistress related what she'd learned and looked at Madame Pomfrey. "Were there any spells on him when he died?"

Madame Pomfrey sighed. "Several, and then more. He had a dozen or more detection spells on him when he died, plus a couple of spells to negate poisons and a couple of spells for his magical extremities. In short, I can't unravel half of the spells he wore every day, let alone tell if anything was cast on him just before he died."

Professor McGonagall was about to say something when her Floo flared and a young Auror looked out of it. "Headmistress McGonagall? Are you in?"

The Headmistress stood up. "I am. May I help you?"

"I hope so, Ma'am. My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt and earlier this evening, Auror Moody asked me to look into some things for him. I've been trying to Floo him for twenty minutes. Do you know where he is?"

Professor McGonagall frowned. "What did he want you to look into?"

The young Auror frowned. "Ma'am, I'm not sure I can talk about it. It is private information."

Headmistress McGonagall frowned in turn. "Mr. Shacklebolt, I need you to find someone that can authorize the sharing of that information and bring them to Hogwarts. There has been an incident, and I need that information."

Shacklebolt nodded. "I can do that. Give me fifteen minutes to find the night commander." His head disappeared from the fire.

Professor McGonagall sat down and considered this new information. "Something made Alistair suspicious about someone in the castle. When we get the information from Shacklebolt, maybe we can make an informed guess as to who or what Professor Moody was worried about."

Selena Lovegood frowned. "It would almost have to be someone he saw doing something strange today. Alistair would not wait, if he thought that who ever it was could be dangerous to his Gryffindor's or Mr. Potter."

The three of them considered that. "Tomorrow, we backtrack everything he did today, everyone he saw or talked to." Professor McGonagall frowned as she thought about it. "The last people to see him were the Weasley twins. The Aurors will want to talk to them. Alistair obviously considered someone in the castle to be a big enough threat to call the Aurors over. We have to find out who that was."

As they discussed it, the Floo flared and two Aurors stepped through the fireplace. The first one was a middle aged woman with dark hair going grey at the temple and the second was Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Headmistress McGonagall knew the first one. "I'm sorry to have to call you here at this hour, Auror Bones, and sorrier to have to be the one to tell you out news. Professor Moody died earlier tonight, apparently of an accident."

Auror Jane Bones stared at Professor McGonagall in disbelief. "Are you trying to tell me that Alistair Moody is dead, of an accident?"

Professor McGonagall nodded. "His body is in the Infirmary. We'll take you there in a few minutes. Right now, Mr. Shacklebolt has a story to tell."

Shacklebolt was maybe twenty-five and he blushed to find himself the target of four sets of eyes. "Auror Moody Floo called me earlier this evening. He wanted to know about a student's background, one Wayne Hopkins. I did some checking, and the child is eleven years old, a Muggle born student. Over the holidays, his family was killed in an accident. Apparently, his father was making some sort of Muggle chemical in their basement and it exploded, destroying the house and everyone in it."

He looked at a parchment he pulled from his robes. "According to the Muggle authorities, the senior Mr. Hopkins was making some sort of illegal chemical, similar to a potion and it went wrong. They are still investigating the incident and I was going to have a talk with the investigator in charge tomorrow, to see what they have learned since then, but it appears to be a simple case."

Jane Bones frowned as she thought about it. "So, Alistair Flooed you about this boy and a few hours later, he's dead in an accident, just a month after the boy's parents die in another accident. I think we'll want to talk to this boy tomorrow. What house is he in?"

"Mr. Hopkins is a Hufflepuff," Minerva said. "Until the events of the holidays, he was just another Hufflepuff. He didn't stand out in any way. Since then, he's been quiet and withdrawn."

"Not a surprising thing, considering that he lost his entire family over the holidays." Bones said thoughtfully. "I seem to recall Susan mentioning something about him in her last letter home. She said that Harry Potter was trying to shield him from some of the talk and insults." She looked at Shacklebolt. "Did Alistair mention anything in particular about the boy?"

Shacklebolt referred to his notes again. "He wanted me to double check the boy's family. Specifically, he wanted to know if the boy or his family had any connections to the Death Eaters. I could not locate any such connection, and Auror Moody didn't say any more than that."

The five of them discussed it among themselves for another thirty minutes, but were unable to come to any solid conclusions with the information they had. Madame Pomfrey took Shacklebolt to collect Moody's body as she had to be getting back to the Infirmary in case her patients needed her.

Professor McGonagall took Auror Jane Bones to Professor Moody's quarters so she could search them for anything that might give them a clue. She was also going to disarm any potential traps the paranoid Auror might have left behind.

_**OoOoOoO Jane Bones, Moody's quarters, 16JAN92. OoOoOoO**_

Jane sighed as she disarmed the final trap in Alistair's room. There had been a dozen traps in various places, sometimes overlapping each other and it had been a tense two hours. She checked one more time for anything she might have missed.

Satisfied that she was clear, she started checking the desk. She found a large set of files in a drawer and leafed through them. Moody had started a dossier on every person in Hogwarts, teachers and students alike. She looked for Wayne Hopkins' file and frowned when she couldn't find it. She looked around and spotted another parchment under a book on the top of the desk.

She picked it up and began reading. When she was done, she looked up and swore. This was not good. She looked at the other files and leafed through them until she found Harry Potter's file. There was nothing written on the parchment at all.

She set the files down to look through later and started searching the rest of the desk. In the upper drawer she found a thick file. She opened it and skimmed the first few pages. Ten minutes later she was frowning thoughtfully.

Harry Potter was building a large group of friends across all the houses, and showing himself to be a charismatic leader. Plus, he'd recorded an Animagus form with Moody but Moody was holding it back. Jane had been an Auror for fifteen years now, missing only a few months after Susan was born and then returning to work.

She knew that Moody was covering for Harry and his friends and she could even see why, given the number of enemies that Potter had. She looked at the file and tapped it with her wand. She picked up the shrunken file and tucked it in her robes. She finished searching the room but didn't find anything that was important. She picked up Wayne Hopkins' file and went outside.

Minerva McGonagall was waiting for her. "The rooms are safe now," Jane said. She handed Hopkins' file to the Headmistress and watched as she read it. When Minerva was done she looked at Jane. "Moody was right to check into this. Can we do anything about it right now?"

Jane Bones thought about it for a minute. "Not really. We have nothing to go on. Moody had suspicions, but no proof and we still don't have any proof. All we can do is watch him."

The Headmistress of Hogwarts frowned as she thought about it. "Could Wayne have been possessed by Voldemort or Mordred?"

Jane shrugged. "I don't know. That sort of Dark knowledge is outside of my line of work. We'd have to ask an Unspeakable. I know one that I can talk to, but he's been out of touch for a few weeks and it might take a day or two to find him. Until then, we need to have some way of watching over Mr. Hopkins. Do you have any way to keep an eye on him without him knowing about it?"

The Headmistress raised one eyebrow. "It's possible that the Headmistress of Hogwarts might have a way to watch her students," she said primly. "You will forgive me if I don't give you any specifics about those ways."

Jane smiled. "I understand fully. If you do find anything out, will you at least share your information?"

"Of course. I expect the Ministry will be around quite often in the next few weeks. Minister Fudge has been trying to extend his control over Hogwarts for a few months now. So far, I've managed to keep him away, but this is going to increase his efforts."

Professor McGonagall was very upset about the death of her colleague, but she also had to live in the real world and that included the politics of being the only large school in the British Islands. This was going to make keeping official attention out of Hogwarts harder and she was already planning steps to take.

She was walking toward her office when she stopped and looked at Jane Bones. "What house were you in, Auror Bones?"

Jane Bones looked at her and bells went off in the back of her head. "Hufflepuff. Almost all of my family goes to Hufflepuff. Why?"

"No reason. I had an idea, but it won't work. I was going to put you in the Gryffindor House head place until the end of the year, but too many people would know you weren't in that house."

Jane thought about it. "Why was Moody in charge of Gryffindor?" There had been a lot of talk when he was chosen. Moody was abrasive, violent and paranoid, which didn't seem to be the best type of person to have in charge of a group of impressionable children Since Moody's association with the Windenmere people and Harry Potter was well known, it was assumed that someone had pulled a string or two to have a trained Auror watching over the Boy-Who-Lived.

The truth was that Moody had been slated to take over the DADA position this year, after Quirrel's close encounter with Voldemort. Professor Quirrell had been missing for nearly two weeks and they had found Moody as his replacement, until he showed up again. Since Quirrell had only been planning on being here for one year and Gryffindor still needed a House Head, Moody had stayed as the head of House and would have taken the DADA position next year.

With him gone, Professor McGonagall had to find a new Head of House and a DADA Instructor for next year. She had thought that Auror Bones would work, while helping keep Minister Fudge out of Hogwarts.

The Headmistress explained the reasons that Moody had been in his position. Jane thought about it for a minute. "So an Auror, who could act as the head of house for Gryffindor would be helpful right now?"

Professor McGonagall nodded. "It would be useful to have an Auror on hand that could be trusted to investigate the things that need to be investigated without interfering with the school." She looked at Jane Bones.

Jane thought about it for a second. The Headmistress was trying to head off the Ministry and any attempts to control the school. "My sister was a Gryffindor and is a very good Auror. You might remember her, she was a first year the year you started teaching Transfiguration."

"Amelia, wasn't it? I seem to recall that she was fair at Transfiguration, but quite good in DADA." Professor McGonagall thought about it for a minute. "If you could make that happen, it would be appreciated."

Jane smiled as they started up the stairs to the Headmistress' office. "I am the watch commander right now. I can assign anyone to a case and given the circumstances and the requirements of this mission, Amelia Bones is the best choice. I'll have her here in two hours." She smiled again, an impish smile that took ten years off her face. "Besides, if she's already in place it will be harder to remove her." Her face clouded for a second. "And, there is no one I would rather have here to watch over Susan, in case something is very wrong."

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrow. "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission?" she suggested.

Jane nodded at she tossed a handful of powder in the Floo. "Exactly." She stepped into the Floo and was gone.

_**OoOoOoO Everyone, Hogwarts, 16JAN92. OoOoOoO**_

Gryffindor was gathered together before breakfast the next day and told that Moody had died in the night. They were not given any details other than it was an accident. That had been Amelia Bones' idea. There would be all kinds of talk and guesses of course, and she was hoping someone would be careless enough to brag.

The rest of the school found out at breakfast. Harry came back from the Infirmary and he was barely noticed by anyone except his friends. Everyone else was too busy talking about the accident. Harry sat down next to Hermione and asked her for a parchment and a quill. She handed them to him and watched as he wrote a note out and passed it off to Draco at the Ravenclaw table. Draco read it and looked at Harry. He nodded and passed the note to Blaise at the Hufflepuff table.

Hermione was watching Harry expectantly. When he started getting food she couldn't wait any more. "What was the note about?"

Harry looked up. "You know about Professor Moody?" Hermione nodded, confused. "He supposedly fell from the stairs last night."

Hermione took a bite of her food on automatic as she thought about that. She hadn't known Professor Moody as well as Harry did, but he didn't seem like the kind of person to be that careless. Of course, it had to be an accident. If it wasn't an accident, that would mean someone tried to hurt him deliberately and that didn't happen, except in films and and books.

Harry looked around and lowered his voice. "It could have been an accident, I suppose, but there was an Auror here that spent a lot of time examining him." Hermione's first thought was that it would have been nice to see how the Wizard world investigated crimes until she realized that this crime, if there was one, was someone she knew. She blushed fiercely and lowered her head.

Hermione began thinking, applying the mind that had taken her to the top of every class she's ever been in to this puzzle.

At the Hufflepuff table Hopkins/Voldemort swore to himself. This was going to make entering the third floor twice as hard. He thought about the note that he'd found in his robes this morning. Mordred had warned him to be certain that he did absolutely nothing that could be suspicious. Mordred had admitted killing Professor Moody because Moody was investigating him. Voldemort had been considering how he could use that note as leverage when the words on it faded away and nothing he had been able to try had brought them back yet. He kept the note, just in case he did manage to find a way to bring the words back.

At yet another table, Mordred was thinking and planning. Voldemort's obsession with the Staff of Merlin was dangerous. His attempts to get it could screw up the plans Mordred had and he began to make contingency plans for every possibility that he could imagine.

Blaise and Daphne were discussing Harry's note at the Hufflepuff table. "Look at Harry," Daphne said quietly and Blaise shot Harry a glance and then looked again. To anyone that knew Harry, he was furious. He was also plotting something. Blaise and Daphne looked at each other. The Windenmere families had known for a couple of years that Harry had few limits when it came to protecting his friends and that he was perfectly willing to use things that Maire and Madame Morgana taught him, as long as he didn't get caught. "What are we going to do?" Daphne asked Blaise.

Blaise looked at Harry again. "We help him, and we remind him that this isn't a Windenmere game any more, and that if he gets caught, the punishment isn't a lecture and some chores." They looked at Harry again. He looked up and saw them looking at him. Blaise nodded and reached up to scratch his right collarbone with his left hand.

At the Gryffindor table Harry saw the sign and smiled slightly. He scratched his nose with his right hand and caught Daphne's hand sign as well.

The four children that had grown up together on the Windenmere estate, Harry, Blaise, Daphne and Draco had long since figured out that verbal codes could be broken by anyone that heard them more than a couple of times. They had looked around and found Sign Language, a way of speaking with your hands. That wouldn't work, as it was widely known by too many people, but they had devised a series of simple signs that looked innocent. They were severely limited in what they could say, but so far, no one had figured it out. Blaise had asked Harry what the plan was and Harry had told him they needed to meet. Daphne had agreed and Harry looked at Draco. Draco looked up when he felt someone staring at him and a few seconds later, Draco knew that they would be planning later.

Draco sighed as he looked at his book bag. He had too much work to do to be engaging in some sort of prank right now.

The students and staff of Hogwarts were subdued for the rest of the week as they came to grips with the sudden death that had appeared in their midst. Most of the students had never known anyone that died of anything but old age, given the ability of magic to fix almost anything that a person could do to themselves and this was their first violent death.

Very few of them had known Professor Moody as anything but the Gryffindor House head, but everyone had heard the stories about the old Auror and his crusade against Dark Wizards. For most, the shock faded after a week or so, leaving a new awareness of death behind, but not really affecting them. It was different for several of them.

Five young people, Harry, Hermione, Draco, Blaise and Daphne, were working on who could have done something to Moody.

Voldemort was careful not to do anything that would draw attention to himself. He had figured out what was behind the door on the third floor and was researching ways to stop a Cerberus, or three headed dog.

Mordred was still planning for the long term. With his control of a Philosopher's Stone, he had all eternity to wait and he had no intention of screwing up again. He could take his time.

_**OoOoOoO Amelia Bones, Her Quarters, Hogwarts, 26JAN92. OoOoOoO**_

Amelia took the files from the concealed area that Moody had built into the desk and laid them out on the top of the desk. A few seconds later the files were normal size and she considered them thoughtfully. Moody has been paranoid, everyone knew that and she had not found anything in his files about most of the students and staff that was particularly Dark. Many of the Slytherin students and a few from other houses had suspected Death Eater family members, but that was it, for most of the people at Hogwarts.

Wayne Hopkins had been one of them until the holidays. On the surface, his account was simple. His Muggle father had been making some sort of chemical that Muggles considered illegal and something had gone terribly wrong. The explosion that had resulted had destroyed the house and killed everyone inside. Wayne had survived only because he had walked to the corner market for some milk.

That was the report filed by the Aurors. Moody's report was a different story. It wouldn't matter to most of the Wizard world, having been compiled by the Muggles, but their report was much more complete.

The Muggle authorities had begun an investigation into the background of the senior Mr. Hopkins. They had been looking for his contacts and dealers. That was where the Muggle Report got interesting. The Muggle law enforcement agencies had not been able to find a single underworld contact of any kind. No dealers, no suppliers and absolutely no evidence that Mr. Hopkins had even had the right training or skills to make drugs.

The family finances were completely in line with his job and they couldn't figure out how he'd paid for the thousands of Pounds worth of equipment and supplies that had been in the basement.

The Muggles had begun widening their investigation, fearing that this was just the tip of a new syndicate. That was as far as they had gotten before someone had issued an order and the Obliviators had wiped the entire thing from their records.

Amelia sat back and thought. She had been an Auror for years and she recognized a dead end investigation when she saw one. Yet, someone from the Ministry had been worried enough about the investigation to have it stopped. This was going to be a delicate operation. Whoever the enemy was, he or she had the right to order Obliviations. That meant the enemy was a very powerful person and it would take an ironclad case to convict them.

Amelia made some notes, suggesting possible lines of inquiry and other ideas about that case and then put the Hopkins file away. She looked at the second file. It wasn't actually a file but a mass of them nearly two feet thick. Amelia assumed it was merely Moody's paranoia that had made him collect every scrap of information on Mordred since nothing in the file hinted at him being in Hogwarts. She had read the entire file and was again amazed at the number of contacts and sources Moody had built up over the years. Everything the ministry knew about Mordred was in here, including the details of the spell that allowed him to assume another identity until it was broken. The Aurors hadn't even been given that information and Amelia would have given a year's pay to have a list of Moody's contacts.

She skimmed it again but had nothing new to add to it and she shrank it and put it away.

She looked at the last file on her desk and grimaced. This file, while not having anything illegal in it yet, would open a huge can of worms if it ever became public. This was the Marauder file and if Harry Potter or his friends had known just how complete it was, they'd have saved whoever had killed Moody the trouble.

Moody had details on everything they'd done, as students, pranksters and just as kids. He'd gone to the trouble of using every trick he'd learned in his career to track them and hidden it perfectly, even going so far as let Harry's Santa prank get him. Amelia looked at the file and Moody's notes. Some of the planning for their pranks was truly inspired and covered every possibility. Moody had been using the plans to create defence plans for various possibilities in Hogwarts and she set those aside for more study. She hefted the Marauder file and considered burning it again. She set it down and pulled her wand. A minute later, she set it down with a sigh. She scooped up the ashes and threw them in the fireplace, mixing them with the ashes from the fire.

She frowned as she stared at the fireplace. If anyone ever found out she'd thrown away the proof of the group that had caused so much trouble for the Obliviators on Christmas, she'd be out of a job and possibly in Azkaban. That they were bending the law studying the mental arts wasn't that big of a deal, as long as they registered their abilities when they came of age.

Except for the Animagus skills, minors were not required to register their mental arts abilities. Amelia was certain that minors were exempt only because the Ministry didn't think children could learn those skills. She frowned. The Windenmere group must have at least a couple of people that could teach those arts, or the kids would not be as far along as they were. She'd have to check and see how many registered Mental arts users were members of the Windenmeres.

Again, that would have to be done carefully. Between their insane loyalty to each other and the power and influence they had gotten by being the guardians of Harry Potter, attacking them without proof, or even with it was an act best considered carefully.

She sighed again and went to bed. Until someone made a mistake or she had enough evidence to force a minor to take Veritaserum, (which might happen after that minor used an Unforgivable in front of the Minister) she wasn't going to be able to anything here except observe.

_**OoOoOoO Sirius, Remus and the Windenmeres, The Estate, 26JAN92. OoOoOoO**_

"The Ministry is putting pressure on Headmistress McGonagall. They are attempting to put someone in Hogwarts to 'observe the education of the children and make recommendations as to the formation and direction of schooling' which seems to be Ministry talk for pushing their agenda on Hogwarts."

Reginald Greengrass looked around at the people that were in the council room. Remus and Sirius of course, as Harry and Draco's guardians. Donnetta Greengrass, as Daphne's voice and the closest thing Harry had to a mother.

The Montrose had come out for this meeting, despite his advanced age. Few Wizards lived to be a hundred and sixty, fewer still lived to be one hundred and eighty, but Martin Harold Montrose IV had been born on January 1st, 1800. He was blind but the mind behind those eyes was as sharp as it had ever been. He had been a tall man in his prime, but now he was stoop shouldered and walked with a cane as his body began failing.

Marigold Zabini, who had trained Blaise and the rest of the children in the Mental Arts, along with Blaise's father, Orrin.

Jacob Fetchly, the head of the fourth Windenmere family was also here. He had not had as much as the others to do with raising Harry or the other three, but this was not just about Harry. The Ministry was attempting to interfere with the educations of all their children and the Fetchlys had children in Hogwarts as well.

Lemos Veritaseek was here, to provide a different viewpoint. He was the only person here without children in school, but he knew how the average Wizard thought and would be able to give them an idea of how Wizards would take this event.

The Ministry wanted to control Hogwarts. Anyone with half a brain and the ability to think politically had known that for years. Professor Dumbledore, before the fall of Mordred, had been adept at keeping them out. Since then, Professor McGonagall had kept them out by being an excellent administrator and staying in favour with the Board of Governors.

Moody's death, however was just the sort of opening the Ministry had been looking for and they were attempting to put a Ministry person in Hogwarts, someone called a "High Inquisitor".

The Windenmere people were still looking into the position, as it had not been used in four hundred years, but what they had learned so far was not good. The position was similar to an overseer, someone that insured that a group or project was running smoothly. That didn't sound too bad, but in the political arena knew that appearances could be deceiving.

They had dug deeper and the implications of the powers of a High Inquisitor were disturbing. They could recommend that a person be removed from their position as an instructor or an administrator at Hogwarts, citing any number of reasons. The part that worried everyone right now, was that the only criteria for a dismissal seemed to be the Inquisitor's ability to make a three person panel agree that the instructor in question be dismissed.

If Fudge put an Inquisitor into Hogwarts, he would have an agenda for them to follow, and he would appoint people to the panel that agreed with that agenda. The group sitting at the table was working on what that agenda was and what they would have to do about it.

"Lemos, why don't you give us a briefing on the Ministry and its current goals."

Lemos Veritaseek sighed. "Minister Fudge is a idiot," he said bluntly. "There really is no other way to put it. He has no backbone at all and simply goes in the direction of whoever has his attention. Right now, his attention is being held by a group of Old Families, pushing a Pureblood doctrine and another couple of ideas that worry me more than bloodlines." He took a drink of his tea and looked at the group. "They believe, or are saying that the reason we have so Many Dark Lords rising in England is because we teach too many spells in school, of types that good, decent people don't need to know."

Sirius snorted. "Bullshit. Most of the things I know, I didn't learn in school, but at my house."

Lemos grinned at Sirius. "Yes, but most of the world doesn't have the Black family lesson plan to study with." He looked at the group. "The agenda that they are pushing the Minister towards sounds good. If people are only taught 'good' spells and charms, they can't use them to become a Dark Lord. By restricting the knowledge of spells and charms, hexes and anything that could hurt someone to Ministry knowledge alone, they seem to believe that the people wouldn't follow a Dark Lord if one arose."

Donnetta frowned as she thought about that. "If you put the right spin on that, it might just work, on paper. Tell the people that you're refusing to allow 'dark' magic to be taught to their children, tell them that no 'light' Wizard or Witch needs those kinds of spells and that they wouldn't have to worry about dark lords any more, and anyone that opposed you, would have to be 'dark', simply because no one else would want to learn, or to have their children learn 'dark' spells."

Martin Montrose shook his head. "The Ministry has become a cesspool of bribery, corruption and factions. Maybe it is time to withdraw from Britain's Wizard world. We have always taught out children anything they needed to know here, on the compound. We could just withdraw them from Hogwarts and let the rest stew in the world they are making."

Remus shook his head. "You could do that with the others, but the Ministry will never allow you to withdraw Harry." Remus looked around. "I know that you all think about your families first, but this time, we're going to have to do something else. If it helps any, helping Hogwarts will help us in the long run."

Reginald Greengrass was thinking. "I know how you feel, Remus, but we have always stayed out of politics. We take care of our own and let other people take care of themselves. It is our way."

Sirius frowned. "I would agree with you, and even join you, but this time, Remus is right. If the Ministry keeps on this course, in a few years there are going to be bigger problems, ones that could destroy everything in our world."

"Melodramatic much, Sirius?" Jacob Fetchly scoffed.

Sirius shook his head. "As the Head of the Black family, some of the people in charge of the Ministry now have contacted me about joining them. They thought that maybe I would join them since they believe in the same things my family has traditionally believed in, Wizard superiority and Pureblood rule."

Lemos looked up. "What did you say?"

"I told them that they couldn't show me that they had the backing to win, and that until they could prove that they could succeed, that I would remain neutral."

Most of the people around the table smiled. "Good work," Reginald said. "Give them a reason to maintain communications, thinking that you could be swayed, while not committing yourself to anything."

Sirius nodded. "They are just like my family and I spent years pretending to follow that line of bull until James convinced me that I didn't need to toe the line any more. I suppose I could attend one or two of their gatherings, and learn a bit more about them, with the right precautions in place."

Martin frowned at them. "Bah! We can tell them all to go to the devil. Who controls their supplies?"

Reginald winced. "We do, and they don't know it. I will keep it that way until we have no other choice. I agree with Remus on this one. We need to stop these people before they get so deeply entrenched in the system that Voldemort might as well be in power."

Sirius frowned. "What do you mean, you control their supplies?"

Reginald shrugged. "The Purebloods don't like dealing with Muggles, but almost all of the Wizard world's food and cloth comes from Muggles. We own the companies that buy from Muggles and sell to the Wizards. The Wizard world simply can't hide the amount of land that it would take to support all of us from the Muggles."

Sirius nodded. "I get it. Most people can't deal with Muggles, because they don't know enough about them."

Donnetta smiled. "I seem to recall that you had a problem with them, the first time we took you into London."

Remus snickered and Reginald laughed outright. Sirius' face was flaming. "OK, I might have been a bit surprised at some of their ways and their music devices."

Sirius had gone into London looking for a new motorbike when Harry was two. He'd gotten the first one with Lily's help and then, he hadn't gone with her to pick it up. (Rather, Lily hadn't allowed the Pureblood Wizard to go with her. Sirius was a nice guy, but he was still a Wizard with no idea how to interact with Muggles.) This time, he had gone with Donnetta to get it, and the sheer noise had unnerved him slightly. Sirius had never seen more people in one place than you would find at a Hogwarts Quidditch match or at the Sorting, and the sheer number of people on a London street on a Saturday afternoon was also a bit overwhelming.

The final straw for Sirius though, had been a new form of life he'd never encountered. He couldn't tell what sex the skinny androgynous figure was, only that it was young. The human shaped being had large safety pins in its nose and ears, and a ten centimetre needle piercing one cheek. It had a large Muggle thing attached to its shoulder that was blaring some form of sound that reminded Sirius of three Kneazles fighting. Coming from the Muggle thing was a voice screaming at the top of its lungs about ripping someone's lungs out. The thing was dressed in black leather clothing over a shirt with a skeleton on it. The skeleton had one hand raised in an obscene gesture. Its hair was shaved on the sides of its head, leaving a strip six centimetres wide and thirty centimetres tall that was coloured a bright blue. The shaved portions of the scalp were tattooed in brightly coloured flames.

Donnetta had to restrain Sirius, who was convinced that the Muggles had some sort of Death Eater type cult starting. It took her nearly an hour to convince Sirius that the person he'd seen was just a girl embracing a new fad called 'Punk' and not a danger to anyone.

Sirius had gone back a few times since then and he'd even learned to accept the Muggle fads and trends without blinking. It helped that most fads came and went in less than a year, sometimes within just a couple of months.

"Muggle relations aside, our current problem is with the Ministry and the question before this council is what we're going to do about it."

The group of people looked at each other and began planning .

_**OoOoOoO Mordred, Hogwarts, 01FEB92. OoOoOoO**_

Mordred frowned as he sat in the room he was using to do certain things he didn't want anyone to know about. Until thirty years ago, it had been a rather popular broom closet for couples looking for a few minutes of privacy. It had become a bit too popular, however and "Professor Dumbledore" had made it disappear.

Mordred had cast the Fidelius Charm on it and now, not even the House Elves could find it. Mordred used it now to hide certain rituals and Alchemy experiments from everyone.

He'd been trying to implement his plans and was running into a dozen obstacles. It had been more than four hundred years since he had been a young child and he had forgotten how hard it was to get anything done. When you added the fact that he didn't want people to know that he was the person making the suggestions, it was making his plans quite difficult.

At least he'd gotten away with killing Moody. That Auror woman that had been made the Head of Gryffindor had no clues and no way to find anything that could lead to him.

Mordred frowned as a thought passed through his mind. A little judicious murder would help him in the long run.

Mordred began making a list of people that were annoying him in one way or another.

_**OoOoOoO Harry and the gang, the Study Hall, 01FEB92 OoOoOoO**_

"We don't have anything, Harry. Wayne was studying History of Magic with Susan Bones when Moody died, and the other Hufflepuffs that were still awake confirm it. It had to have been somebody else, but we have been unable to figure out who would do it and had the capability."

Harry frowned. Amelia Bones had had him into her office for a private talk and he knew that she knew more about his group than she was saying, but she had also told him to be careful. She had no proof that Moody had been murdered, but like everyone else that knew Moody, she didn't believe it was an accident.

Harry rubbed his forehead and Hermione watched him. "Harry, do you still have a headache?"

Harry nodded. "Yes," he said shortly and Hermione stared at him, chewing on her lower lip as she watched him.

Harry was trying to take his mind off of the pain in his head and he looked around the Study Hall. The room had been expanded by the Headmistress and set up with a few more tables scavenged from empty classrooms. One wall was full of books on shelves and Harry grinned as he remembered Hermione confronting one careless fourth year who had damaged one of 'her' books.

Hermione had been the only real choice to be the librarian for this room and it hadn't taken long for the other students to figure out that Hermione was very insistent on prompt returns of borrowed materials. She also knew every book in their small library and had apparently read them all.

Harry was watching the twenty or so people when Hermione sat down next to him. "Harry, close your eyes." Harry frowned but did as she said. "Now, concentrate on the pain and touch the part of your head where it seems to hurt the most."

Harry thought about it and placed his hand on his forehead. Hermione moved it. "Harry, the pain is centred on your scar."

Harry reached up again and felt the scar. Now that he was thinking about it, rubbing the scar did cause a bit of pain. He lowered his Occlumency shields slightly and winced as the pain increased. "You're right. I never even noticed that." Harry considered this and thought about it. "Voldemort has to be nearby."

Daphne looked up. "I wonder if that's why Moody was asking questions about Hopkins."

The group considered that. Harry frowned. "Wayne hasn't done anything to arouse suspicion, and we already know that he didn't kill Moody. Unless he has a helper in Hogwarts, he is innocent of this crime."

"Nott and his band of Slytherins might be helping him. We should see if they all have alibis for the night Moody died." Draco was thinking about it. "It will be hard since we don't have any allies in that house yet, just a few people that come here to study."

"Let's branch out a bit over the next week or so, see if we can find a friend or two in that house. Be careful though, we don't want to start any feuds and I don't want any of you being hurt." Harry looked at Hermione. "Especially you. The others are slightly more tolerable to Pureblood bigots, so if you start talking to the Slytherins, you be very careful."

Neville Longbottom looked at Harry. "What about me? You think they'd talk to me?"

Harry, Blaise and Draco laughed as Daphne rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, Neville, I can just see the children of Death Eaters lining up to talk to the son of the people that put most of their parents in Azkaban."

Hermione frowned. "You are being just as bad s they are," she scolded everyone. "Not all of the Slytherins are bigots. What about Patil?"

Harry glared at her for a second and then blushed as he realized she was right. "Why don't you talk to her sister? You two share a room and it wouldn't be out of place for you to talk."

Hermione nodded. "Now that we have that out of the way, I've got the notes on the History of magic and we all have an essay due in two days."

The others sighed as they dug out their homework and set to work.

_**OoOoOoO Voldemort, Hufflepuff first year boy's room, 18Feb92. OoOoOoO**_

Voldemort swore as he thought about what had happened over the last few days. Harry Potter had become cool, almost distant. That damned fool had killed Moody and now Harry was suspicious of him. If it hadn't been for a fortunate coincidence, he'd be the primary suspect in the investigation, and with the two Bones females in charge, his man in the Aurors couldn't even let him know what was happening.

He needed a few more weeks to get the things together that he would need to go after the thing on the third floor. That damned Hagrid had supplied a freaking Cerberus as the first guard, but the thing was susceptible to music and had been fairly easy to get around. The plant would be easy, after his next Herbology lesson. He would simply steal a bit of Professor Sprout's plant repellent and that would fix that. He didn't know any of the rest of the defences around the room that the Staff of Merlin was supposedly in, but given the nature of the ones he did know about, he assumed that they would reflect the rest of the staff's specialities.

He didn't know which ones had been asked to add to the defences, but he was trying to be prepared for any possibility he could think of. Voldemort sat and thought about how to break into the third floor. He was planning to do it in three weeks, during the Ravenclaw VS. Slytherin game and that was not much time to be ready.

He thought about letting the Monster of Slytherin out, but decided to wait. Opening the Chamber again would tell anyone with common sense and any knowledge of history that he was back and active in Hogwarts.

No, that would wait. It was always good to have a fall back plan.

_**OoOoOoO Harry and crew, The Quidditch Stands, 09MAR92. OoOoOoO**_

Harry was watching the Ravenclaw Seeker. It was her second game, as she'd joined the team this year and and in her first match against Hufflepuff, she'd caught the Snitch after an hour and forty minutes. The girl, an Asian woman named Cho Chang was not a great Seeker, but she was good at Marking. That was the habit of following the other Seeker around and using their eyes to find the Snitch and then using a superior flying ability to get to the Snitch before the other Seeker did.

Most of the students were here this morning as it was a rare fine day, with the sun shining and few clouds in the sky. It was still an early March day in the Scottish Highlands though, and everyone in Harry's group was happy to be under one of Hermione's warming charms. Almost everyone in the group could cast the charm by now, but all of Hermione's fire spells, from the Bluebell Flame charm to the warming charms worked better than anyone else's.

Harry was already thinking of ways to deal with that strategy. His thoughts were interrupted by Daphne. "I wonder where Hopkins is."

Harry frowned as he looked around. Most of the students sat divided by their House, but a few sat with special friends from other houses. Harry, Draco, Hermione, Daphne, Neville and Blaise always sat on the edge between two houses. This match, they were at the edge of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff houses and Harry could see almost all of the Hufflepuffs.

Harry saw Susan Bones looking at him and he motioned to her to join them. Susan came down and sat next to Hermione and Harry. She said hello to everyone and ducked as Harry held his arm up and a shadow crossed over her.

"Hello Hedwig. Did you have a nice night?" Harry was ready with a treat as Hedwig preened. Hedwig craned her neck around and looked at Susan. "She's a friend, Hedwig."

Hedwig continued to stare at Susan and then moved down Harry's arm toward her. Harry frowned for a second and then grinned. "Greedy girl." He looked at Susan. "Hedwig's begging for one of your owl treats."

Susan stared at them both. Hedwig was standing on her leg by now and cocking her head from side to side, emitting little sounds and bobbing her head. She looked so cute that Susan had to smile. She reached into her pocket and brought out a treat. "How did she know I had any?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. She always seems to know when anyone around her has them though. Hermione did a few tests, and she can detect even the wrapped Owl Treats at about ten feet or so."

Susan shook her head and watched as Hedwig went back to Harry, nipping gently at his ear. Harry had one eye on the game and one eye on Hedwig as she bobbed and twisted her head. She extended one wing and Harry examined it carefully. "It wasn't important for flying, girl." Hedwig nipped him slightly and Harry winced. "You may know it's gone, but no humans could tell except me and I think you are just as pretty without it." That apparently satisfied Hedwig as she folded her wing and sat comfortably on Harry's shoulder.

Harry caught Susan's bemused look. "Hedwig was flying last night and was worried about a feather she lost." He looked around and saw that most people were watching the match. "Where is Hopkins this fine morning?"

Susan glanced around and shrugged. "I don't know and I don't care. Wayne has been very odd the last couple of weeks, always with his nose in a book and being abrupt to everyone."

Harry frowned at Susan's tone. He'd never heard any Hufflepuff refer to another Hufflepuff like that, and from the looks on the faces of his friends, they were just as surprised. His attention was diverted as Cho Chang, who had been Marking the Slytherin Seeker, suddenly dove with the other Seeker on her tail. Harry thought they'd seen the Snitch and was watching them dive and looking for the Snitch ahead of them. Chang dove close to the ground and suddenly pulled up, straining to pull out of her dive.

The Slytherin Seeker was an instant behind her and just a shade too slow as he hit the ground and slid across the pitch. Harry's estimation of the Ravenclaw Seeker rose slightly as she used the time it took the Slytherin Seeker to recover and get back in the air to look for the Snitch.

He dragged his attention back to Susan. "What has Wayne been doing?"

Susan shrugged. "Nobody knows. He's been strange since the holidays, but in the last few weeks, he's been getting worse. Some of the other Hufflepuffs say he's been mean. I haven't seen that, but he was cold to me several times and I avoid him now." She hesitated, biting her lip. "He's been different since the holidays, but that might just be because his family died."

Harry frowned. He stood up. "I'll be right back." He headed toward the stairs down to the ground. Out of sight of the people, he pulled the Marauder's Map from under his robes. He opened it and tapped it with his wand. The people on the Pitch were the majority of people, and he sent it sliding quickly through the school. A few students in the library, a few more in the various houses and he grinned as the map showed two names very close together in a closet.

He stopped the map suddenly as Wayne Hopkins' name came on to it. He centred the map there and watched it for a second. He frowned thoughtfully. Harry, like most of Hogwarts by now, had heard the rumours about the Staff of Merlin, although most people didn't believe it.

Wayne Hopkins was on the third floor, just past a dot marked 'Fluffy', and going deeper into the forbidden section. Harry tapped the map again and went back to his friends. We looked at him and he looked for Susan. "She went back to the Hufflepuff seats." said Blaise, watching him.

Harry told them about Wayne. Hermione frowned. "Is the Staff of Merlin that important?" she asked. "Other than as a historical piece?"

Harry shrugged. "Nobody knows, really. Some people say it can amplify a Wizard's power, allowing him to cast using a fraction of the power it normally takes. If so, to a wizard of Voldemort's ability... Harry trailed off, starting into space.

He shook his head suddenly. "I still have control of Voldemort's magic," he said quietly, "so either Wayne isn't Voldemort, or Voldemort has somehow become Wayne entirely."

The Curse scar Voldemort left Harry with had done a couple of things to him. It gave him a connection to Voldemort, it had given him the ability to speak Parseltongue and as long as Voldemort was out of a body, it allowed Harry to use Voldemort's magic. The current theory was that the Curse scar was the closest thing to Voldemort left, except his bodiless spirit and so the magic collected around it. Since the scar was on Harry, he could use that pool of magic as well as his own, at least until Voldemort regained a body. With Voldemort's spirit in a body, Harry would lose that magic.

Wizards had known for a very long time that if you lost your body, you lost your magic. There were a dozen or more Wizards and Witches roaming the halls of Hogwarts as ghosts now, and not one of them could do magic.

Draco, Blaise and Daphne, who knew about Voldemort's magic looked thoughtful. Draco cleared his throat. "There is a ritual, one that ties a bodiless spirit to another's body, allowing the spirit to take possession of the body. Your oldest female teacher told me about it, Harry"

Harry frowned and then realized that Draco was talking about Madame Morgana. "I see."

Hermione, who didn't know as much as the others was bursting with questions, but she was also aware that there were dozens of people around. "Is this one of those things we should be discussing in the open?" she asked. "Or should we be in the Study Hall?"

Harry took out the Map and tapped it with his wand, muttering the activation phrase. He studied it for a minute and put it away. "I'm going to take a walk up to the third floor. I don't know that Wayne is Voldemort, yet and I want to have some sort of proof before I accuse him of anything."

Hermione looked troubled. "Isn't this the sort of thing the Professors should handle, Harry?"

Harry looked at her. "Maybe, but by the time we explained it to one of them, Wayne would be done with whatever he's doing, and if he is after the Staff of Merlin, we don't have that much time."

Hermione nodded. "Right. I'm coming with you."

Harry stood up. "Let's go, then."

Amelia Bones was watching the match. She had always enjoyed a good match and this was quite good for a school game. Not as good as the Holyfield Harpies, but at least as good as those Chudley Cannons could do. She had seen Harry and his friends sitting in the stands watching the match and had relaxed a bit. They were out here, under the eyes of the entire school. They couldn't get in that much trouble out here.

Some time later she happened to look over in that direction again and she forgot all about the match. Harry, Blaise, Daphne, Neville and Hermione were gone.

_**OoOoOoO The Author, Here and Now. OoOoOoO**_

_A short chapter, I know, but after having been without my computer for so long, I just wanted to get some out to all those of you who have been waiting. Next chapter, We'll see the end of Harry's first year, learn a bit more about the Staff of Merlin, and see the death of at least one more person._

_Have fun,_

_Raven_


	9. Endings and Beginnings

_Here we go again. Voldemort is after the Staff of Merlin, Harry and his friends, or some of them, are after Voldemort, and Mordred is plotting murder. This chapter will take us through the end of the year, the traditional end of a HP book. Yes, I am going to be traditional in this story arc. Harry's second year will be a different story, titled Harry Potter and Bonds of Loyalty. Before you say something, all of the books in this arc are going to be Harry Potter and the Bonds of (Fill in the blank). Those of you worrying about ships, give me a break, they're eleven. They're not going to worry about kissing each other until at least third year, possibly fourth year, so just don't worry about it until then._

_Disclaimer: Let's see. According to 's stats, I have written 900,000 words, with an average of 20,000 words per chapter. That makes at least 45 separate times I have already told you that I don't own Harry Potter, the rights to him, and that I do this for fun and don't make a dime from it. If you haven't gotten the idea by now, I just can't help you. Or, possibly, this is your first time to read anything I have done. If so, I think you should at least start at the beginning of the story. Go back to Chapter one, we'll wait for you. (Hums to herself.) See? Now you know what is going on._

_Dedication: To all of you who have this story on favourite story lists, who have put it in C2s, who have it on alerts or keep track of it in some other way, this chapter is for you._

_**Harry Potter and the Bonds of Blood**_

_**Chapter Nine**_

_**The Staff of Merlin**_

_**OoOoOoO Harry, Hermione, Daphne, Blaise and Neville, Hogwarts, 09MAY91. OoOoOoO**_

Harry looked at the others as they reached the third floor. "Last chance to back out," he warned them.

Blaise and Daphne just shrugged. Neville grinned. "I've never done anything like this before. Grandmother is a bit overly protective. I'm in."

Hermione was studying the door in front of them. "Be serious, Harry, if the Staff of Merlin is in there somewhere, I want to see it and we can't let Voldemort get his hands on it."

Daphne nudged Blaise. "Voldemort isn't the problem. Who's going to rescue the Staff from Hermione?"

Hermione huffed as everyone smiled. "A little research never hurt anyone."

Harry crossed to the door. "Merlin," he swore, as he looked through the door. "Look at that thing."

Everyone else came and looked. On the floor was a huge dog with three heads, sleeping peacefully to the sounds of an enchanted harp. "Look," said Blaise, "there's a trap door. I bet that's where Hopkins went."

Harry looked at the dog, a very few metres from the trap door. "Stay quiet, and for Merlin's sake, if that dog wakes up, don't waste any time going for the closest escape route. If you're on this side and you get out of here, go find Professor Bones and get her to come up here."

Harry started across the room, watching the dog warily. He reached the trap door and looked down. He couldn't see anything in there and pulled his wand. He tried the 'Lumos' spell, but it wouldn't light anything up. He looked at Hermione. "You have your little bottle, for your flame spells?"

Hermione nodded and a few seconds later, she tossed a small bottle of blue flames down the hole. They all saw the vines about three metres down writhing out of the way as the bottle fell. The bottle fell about seven metres and broke on a stone floor.

Neville was the only one that recognized the plant in their brief glimpse. "That's a Devil's Snare," he said. "There are two ways to get around it, but we'll have to be careful."

Blaise, who was watching the dog, swore. "The music stopped."

Every turned to look as the huge beast began to wake up. Harry pushed Daphne in the hole. "Go, now."

Blaise and Hermione went after her as the dog woke up and saw them. Harry pushed Neville in, falling after him. Harry hit and started to try and move until the plant started tightening around him. He relaxed, having fallen prey to a prank or two of Sirius' that did the same thing. Neville was still as well, although the other three were still struggling. "Listen," said Neville urgently, "Relax, and you'll slip through it. The more you struggle the tighter it gets."

Daphne and Blaise stopped and Hermione did a second later. Neville was the first to fall though followed by Harry and the others a minute later.

Hermione looked at Neville. "What was the other method of dealing with it?"

Harry looked at her in disbelief. "Hermione, can we wait and deal with Hopkins first? We'll have time to talk about the traps later."

Daphne was standing next to a door and she looked around it, since it was already open. "Harry, I don't suppose we can go back and get Ron Weasley, can we?"

Harry frowned as he crossed to her. "Why would we want." His voice trailed off as he saw the giant chess board laid out on the other side of the door. He walked into the room and tried crossing the board, only to be stopped by two of the pieces. "Any ideas?"

Blaise looked at the pieces and thought about it for a minute. "Harry, how do the people that work down here get here every day without having to deal with all this? Someone is examining the Staff, I assume, so how do they get in?"

"I assume they Floo to the room the Staff is in, probably from the Headmistress' office. Why?"

"If you set this up as a prank, how would you fix it so you can get by it without setting it off?"

Harry stared at the set, frowning. "A password. Something simple, so I wouldn't forget it or make a mistake with it."

Daphne looked up. "Simple, having to do with chess and something you're not likely to forget." She smirked at Harry. "Fool's mate." she called out and took a step onto the board. The pieces didn't react and she grinned. She started across, looking back at the rest. "Are you coming?"

Blaise snickered at Harry as he started after her. "She's never going to let you forget that, Harry."

Harry sighed as he followed his friends. "I'm not a chess player, OK? No one is good at everything."

Blaise was smiling. "That's true, Harry, but she caught you in that three times."

Hermione looked at Harry. "You fell for fool's mate three times?"

The blazing blush on Harry's face was the only answer he gave her.

The next room was full of fluttering keys with wings. Harry looked at them as Hermione went to the next door. "Alomora" she cast, pointing her wand at the door. The unlocking spell didn't work and she frowned.

Harry was looking at the broom. "Like hell. This is too fishy. Hopkins isn't that good a flyer. How did he get by?"

Blaise looked at Daphne. "Do you have the gold bit?"

Daphne looked at him and then at Harry. She sighed and brought a key out. "No, Harry, you can't have it, no, you can't borrow it, and no, I'm not going to tell you how to get one."

Harry was obviously confused. "What are you talking about?"

Daphne put the key in the door and tapped it with her wand. The key glowed a soft gold colour for a minute and then the glow faded and Daphne turned the key. The door opened and Harry blinked. He looked at the key with interest as Daphne put it away. "Where."

Hermione interrupted him. "Harry, can we wait and deal with Hopkins first? We'll have time to talk about the traps later."

Everyone smiled as Hermione repeated Harry's words from the first room.

Harry and the others paused inside the next room. It was empty, with nothing standing between them and the next door. Harry frowned. "This worries me more than anything we've seen so far."

Blaise nodded. "This reminds me of Remus' 'empty' box."

Harry nodded. "It does, doesn't it?" He blinked twice, activating the charms built into his contacts. "Son of a-"

"Harry," snapped Daphne. "How many times do I have to tell you? That's not nice."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Daphne, use the extra sight you have."

Daphne and Blaise activated their charms and looked at the room. "Merlin," Blaise swore, and Daphne didn't say anything.

Neville looked at the room again. "Would you mind telling the rest of us what you see? All I see is an empty room."

Harry answered him. "Neville, about one metre in front of you is an invisible ward, surrounding a huge ball of fire. If you take a step forward, this entire room is going to be engulfed in an inferno."

Neville swallowed and took a step back. He sighed. "Who knows the flame freezing spell?" He wasn't really expecting an answer but he got one.

"I do," said Hermione. Everyone turned to look at her. That was a third year spell. She blushed. "I may have read ahead a bit, especially on the fire related spells, since I can get them to work so well."

Harry grinned. "This once, I'm not going to tease you about it."

Hermione cast the spell on them all and Harry made them stand back. "I trust your spell work, Hermione, but we don't know that the person that created this trap didn't do something to the fire."

Daphne was about to say something when Harry took a step forward. The room exploded, flames filling it in less than a second, sending a wave of heat around them, turned back by Hermione's spell.

Harry just stood there and Blaise grew nervous. He had Daphne hold him and Neville hold her arm and he stepped out and grabbed Harry, dragging him back.

Harry shook his head. "Thanks, Blaise. There's another spell inside the warded area. You can't see or hear anything, and you can't tell which direction is which. I was afraid to move, in case I went into a corner."

Blaise shook his head. "This trap is Moody's work, I bet. There were rumours that he did similar things to Death Eaters in their houses."

"That was never proven," said Harry automatically. He frowned. "There was an area, about four centimetres along the right wall, that the wards didn't cover. I bet if you walk into it and keep your hand on the wall, you can walk through it easily." He looked at the others. "I'll go first, and you all follow me, with your left hand on the shoulder of the person in front of you and your right on the wall. If you lose contact with the wall, stand still, hold your hands out and turn in place. You'll find the wall again."

They started off and Harry was right. As he walked, he couldn't see or feel anything except his right hand on the wall. It was eerie, walking without feeling the floor under him and seeing nothing but blackness, hearing and sensing nothing except the feel of the stone wall under his right hand, but he kept on until the feel of stone under his hand turned to wood and he stopped, feeling around on the wood. He found the door knob after a second and turned it.

The door opened and he stepped through, pulling the hand that had been on his shoulder with him. Neville came, pulling the next person until they were all in the room. They stared at the other door, on the far side of the room. Between them and the door was amass of strings hanging from the ceiling. Each string had a potion vial hanging from it. The strings were of various lengths, leaving potions hanging at all heights, from one centimetre to three metres from the floor.

Why do I think this is Professor Lovegood's work?" Harry commented. "I wonder how it works?"

Hermione was watching the strings thoughtfully. "They quiver when we talk, Harry. I think they are sonically sensitive."

The others looked at her blankly. She sighed, causing some of the closer potions to swing. "They react to sounds."

Blaise frowned. "I don't fancy trying to walk silently through a forest of potions. I like the way I look and have no desire to see if I could end up like Professor Lovegood."

Hermione was watching the potions. "I bet there is something you say, a password that allows you to pass it without setting it off."

The others looked at her. "Well, unless you have something to suggest, we'll go with plan A," Harry said. He pointed his wand at himself and said "Silencio." He grinned at them and started toward the potions forest.

Daphne had the fastest reactions and yanked Harry back as the first two potions swung toward him. They collided and a two metre circle of some sort of very sticky looking goo exploded over the area where Harry had been.

Harry dropped his silencing spell and considered the goo. "That would be embarrassing. I guess that won't work."

Hermione was still thinking. "They react to sound," she said absently, "so making sure that any absence of sound would set them off would be obvious."

Daphne suddenly smiled. "If this is Professor Lovegood's work, I know what her password is." She stepped up and said, "Uncontrolled potion interactions are very dangerous."

The potions swung aside to form a tunnel. Daphne smiled at their looks. "What else would she use? She only repeats that phrase about twenty times a week in class, and if the other teachers have to know her password, it would have to be easy to remember."

The group walked through the tunnel, watching the potions nervously. At the other end of the room another door was slightly ajar and Harry went and looked through it.

Wayne Hopkins was standing in front of a mirror. Harry looked around the rest of the room. Besides Wayne and the mirror, there were a few older looking desks and chairs, as if this had been a classroom once. At one side of the room was a fireplace, that had the marks of regular Floo use.

"I can feel you, Potter. Come on in, and bring your friends." Wayne continued to stare at the mirror.

Harry looked back at the people with him and made a small sign with one hand. Blaise and Daphne nodded and pulled their wands as they stepped back. "Hermione, you and Neville stay behind me."

Harry led them into the room, staying near a desk for cover. "What are you doing here, Hopkins? We're missing a good match."

Wayne finally looked up. "Don't play stupid, Potter. It doesn't become you. I want the Staff." He turned back to the mirror. "This is the Mirror of Erised. I can feel the Staff, and getting it is tied to the mirror somehow."

Harry frowned. He stepped up a bit closer, staying as far from Wayne as he could while looking in the mirror. Neville followed him but Hermione stayed back staring at the mirror and the room thoughtfully.

Harry looked into the mirror and saw a gathering of people. He looked closer and felt his throat go dry. There were his parents, sitting on a couch with Harry between them and a younger girl, about nine or so, who looked very much like Lily. Lily was holding an infant, a boy Harry thought, from the blue blanket the child was wrapped in. He stared at the mirror for a minute and tore his eyes from the scene. He looked at the frame of the mirror and saw the writing on it.

It only took a minute to turn "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi." into "I show not your face but your heart's desire." Harry thought for a minute and turned back to the glass. He watched the happy family for a minute more and turned away. He blinked rapidly as he considered Wayne.

That scene, Harry realized, could have been possible if not for the monster standing next to him. He could have had a family of his own blood, brothers and sisters to play and grow up with, and parents. Harry forced down the swelling anger and fought the urge to look in the mirror again.

"What did you see, Potter? Could you get the Staff out?" Wayne was studying him closely and the face was not that of a child. It was twisted and the eyes held nothing of humanity or sanity in them.

Harry shook his head slowly, never taking his eyes off the thing in front of him. "I didn't see anything about the Staff of Merlin in the mirror," he said honestly, reminding himself that the boy looking at him had been judging people longer than Harry had been alive.

Wayne frowned as he studied Harry. "You don't want the Staff?" Harry's non-committal shrug made him stare. "It's power, Potter, power to make the world over in any image you want. Why don't you want that?"

Harry looked at him and back at the Mirror, watching the happy family that could have been his. That was true power, Family and the love they shared. "No, Voldemort, it's not. It can't turn back the clock, bring my parents back or give me anything I want. It's not really important."

Hermione choked slightly, as if coughing something down and Voldemort flicked a glance at her. "Not everyone agrees with you, it seems. Care to let her look in the mirror?"

Harry looked back, making sure to keep Voldemort in his view. He looked soberly at Hermione. "Read the inscription before you look in the mirror, Hermione."

Hermione frowned but looked at the frame as she walked closer. Harry saw that little crease appear between her eyes as she puzzled at it. It took her less time to translate it that it had taken Harry. She looked at the mirror for a minute and then at Harry. "No, I don't think I will, Harry."

Voldemort and Harry both stared at her. She shrugged. "I don't want to know what I desire. Not yet. Maybe in ten years, or fifty years. I know what I want now, and that's enough for me." She looked at the mirror, an oddly adult expression on her face. "I think that knowing the deepest desire of your soul could be bad for you, if you had no way to get that desire."

Across the room, Neville was watching them all. His parents had been Aurors for years and Neville had learned a lot from them. Right now, Harry was on the brink of cursing Wayne, and Wayne was just as ready for trouble. Hermione was watching Wayne, but she wasn't preparing to attack anything. Neville looked around scanning the room for the best place for him to go when the curses started flying. There, that desk would be perfect, tall and thick, it would deflect most curses and allow him enough room to dodge and fire curses back.

He started toward the desk, edging slowly in that direction while he watched the three in front of him.

His movement made Harry and Voldemort both look at him. "What about you, Longbottom? Will you look in the Mirror?" Harry and Wayne looked at him and Neville looked at Harry who merely shrugged.

Neville looked at the mirror in silence for a minute. "I'll go with Hermione on this one. I don't need to have a mirror show me my deepest desires." He stopped by the desk he'd chosen, thinking about what he would do if trouble started.

Harry and Voldemort stared at each other. "You've been troublesome, Potter. It took a long time to recover from whatever happened between us that night and I will have my revenge, sooner or later."

Harry tensed, but he didn't think Voldemort would start anything with the two of them this close together. There was no way either of them could block or dodge anything the other person cast. Wayne looked at Harry's allies and back at Harry. "What will you do, Potter? I may not have the power I had in my body, but I am still far more experienced than all three of you combined."

Before Harry could say anything, a twisting yellowish beam lanced by Harry, striking Wayne in the shoulder and throwing him to the ground. Seeing Voldemort's wand coming up, Harry pushed Hermione to the side and tried to disarm Wayne with a kick to his wrist. He threw off Voldemort's aim and the purple beam lanced into the ceiling, but Voldemort kept his wand and rolled away, jumping to his feet as Daphne's second spell barely missed him. Harry dove behind a desk as another purple beam came close enough to put a hole in his robes.

Voldemort snarled and did something to the door, a glowing reddish shield that kept Blaise out. Daphne had already charged into the room and was throwing stinging hexes at Voldemort.

Neville reached for the desk, intending on flipping it on its side for better cover. He grabbed it by one leg and froze as something invaded his mind, searching and looking at his entire life.

The others stopped and stared at Neville as he made a choking sound. Neville began glowing, a brilliant white light that made them all blink. When the light faded, Neville was gone.

Harry stared for a minute and turned on Voldemort. "What did you do? Bring him back."

Voldemort barely looked at him. "You're a fool, Potter. I didn't do that, I would have just killed him and been done with it."

As they argued, Hermione was laying on the floor where Harry had pushed her. She looked under the desk and saw Voldemort's feet. She smirked as she pointed her wand and cast her spell.

Daphne saw Hermione's wand sticking out from under the desk and waited. Voldemort would have to deal with whatever Hermione was going to do and then she'd have a good shot at him.

Harry and Voldemort saw Hermione's spell at the same time. Hermione had set Voldemort's feet on fire. Voldemort jumped and turned his wand on the flames.

Daphne cast "Petrificus Totalus" at Voldemort, but he dodged it as Harry raised his wand and cast a hex at him.

Voldemort was not any stronger than any of the people in the room with him, but he had decades more experience and he was using curses that could kill. Harry, Hermione and Daphne spent most of their time dodging and ducking, and those few curses and jinxes they got off were dodged or blocked easily.

Voldemort began pushing them into a corner, herding them with spells and setting the desks on fire.

"I think it's time for you to die, Potter. I can't cast a Killing curse at you, but you'll roast just like your friends." Voldemort used some sort of spell to push two of the burning desks towards the three of them as Hermione and Daphne tried to put out the fires.

Harry tried to use the _Protego_ spell to protect them all. He was wracking his brain for something that would help when the wall next to the door exploded into the room, showering Voldemort with stones. He was knocked to the ground and his wand skittered across the floor, disappearing under a burning desk.

Professor McGonagall and Amelia Bones came in through the hole, pointing their wands at Voldemort.

He stood up and fury crossed his face as he looked at the two women. "This isn't over, Potter. I will kill you one day." Before anyone could move, Voldemort pulled a vial from his robes and drank it.

He fell to the floor convulsing as Professor McGonagall put out the fires and cleared the smoke from the air. "Mr. Potter, why am I not surprised to find you in a place that was put off-limits at the beginning of the school year?"

Harry scratched his head as he tried to think of a reason that the Headmistress would accept. Hermione came to his rescue. "Professor McGonagall, Neville disappeared."

Amelia and the Headmistress looked at each other and then back at the group, who had now been joined by Blaise. Amelia stepped up and looked at Hermione. "Would you give me the details, please?"

Hermione pointed at the desk that Neville had grabbed. "He touched that..."

Professor McGonagall hissed. "He touched it, with his bare hands?"

Hermione nodded, blinking at being interrupted by the Headmistress.

Professor McGonagall sighed and turned to Professor Bones. "One of the things we did to protect the Staff was put the Mirror of Erised in here. Anyone looking for the Staff would look in it and see the Staff. They couldn't get it out of there, because it was never in it." She pointed at the desk Neville had touched. "It was hidden under an illusion as the leg of that desk. Mr. Longbottom must have touched it."

Professor Bones nodded. "You weren't expecting an all out battle in here. What happened to Mr. Longbottom?"

The Headmistress sighed. "I don't know. We had barely begun to unravel the secrets of the Staff of Merlin, because one of the first things we found out is that is is a Portkey, activated by touch. We haven't yet figured out where it takes you. Not being able to touch it was hampering the research."

The four friends looked at each other. "Excuse me," Harry said, "but are you saying that Neville could be anywhere in the world?"

Professor McGonagall nodded. "That's right, Mr. Potter."

Hermione was looking at Voldemort. "Shouldn't we do something for him?"

The others looked at Voldemort. He was curled up in a tight ball, and his face was a dark shade of red. Blood was running from his nose and ears. Amelia shrugged. "He's dead," she said bluntly. "Once he drank that poison, nothing we could do here could have saved him, unless one of you has a Bezoar in your pocket?"

Hermione swallowed hard, staring wide eyed at the body. Harry, Blaise and Daphne looked at it, but they were more worried about Neville. Professor Bones shook her head. "Right. You lot are coming with me. Minerva, I can give you about an hour while I ask these four questions, but then I have to call the Ministry and report a possession."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "I'll Floo the Board right away and start working on what we're going to do. Do you want me to call the Longbottoms?"

Amelia nodded. "I think so. You have to Floo Augusta anyway, so you can talk to them all at once. I assume the Longbottoms will insist on being part of the investigation until we find out what happened to Neville anyway."

She looked at the four children. "Come on, you lot. Mr. Potter, why exactly did you follow Wayne, instead of letting a teacher know?" Harry began telling her the story as she led them out.

_**OoOoOoO Neville, Somewhere, Some when, OoOoOoO**_

Neville closed his eyes as something seemed to be trying to pull his stomach out thorough his navel. He opened them when the feeling stopped and looked around. He was surrounded by opalescent mists, shimmering and swirling around him. He looked around several times as he thought he saw shapes from the corner of his eye, but he couldn't see anything when he looked.

He looked down, aware he was still holding something and realized that the leg of the desk was in his hands. He was about to toss it down when he changed his mind. He didn't know where he was, but this desk leg was obviously a Portkey and he might need it to get back to Hogwarts.

He could feel the ground under his feet, but like the rest of what he could see, it was a swirling mass of nothingness.

"_Thou are of the Blood. Thou hast taken up mine Staff. Now thou shalt be judged. Three tests will thou take. Should you pass them all, thou shall have the power thou crave. Should thou fail, thou shalt die."_

The voice was in Neville's head and he stared at the desk leg with panic rising rapidly. "I don't want power, I want to go home." Neville looked around wildly, hoping to see anything that could help him.

"_The Staff of Merlin is thy escape from this place. If thee let it go, it shall be lost forever and thou will be lost in the Mists of Magic forever and ever."_

Neville looked at the stick he held and his eyes grew wider as it changed, becoming longer and slimmer, with a small carving of an Oak tree at the top.

"Bollocks." Somehow, Neville didn't think his parents would be happy about this.

_**OoOoOoO Headmistress McGonagall, her office, 09May91. OoOoOoO**_

Professor McGonagall threw a pinch of Floo powder in the fireplace and called the Longbottom estate. Augusta answered and she asked Augusta and Neville's parents to come to her office. She sat down behind her desk and thought while she waited.

The three Longbottoms stepped through the Floo a few minutes later, looking worried. "What's wrong?" asked Alice. "Is Neville OK?"

"I don't know. Let me explain." Professor McGonagall explained what had happened and what they knew about the Staff of Merlin. "I was hoping that you had some way to track Neville down. I know that some of the older families have Blood Trackers."

Frank nodded. "Of course we do. I'll go and get it." He stepped up to the Floo and was gone in an instant.

Augusta looked at the Headmistress. "While we're waiting for Frank, maybe you can explain what you were doing with such a dangerous thing in the school in the first place."

Professor McGonagall sighed. "It was not a choice. The Ministry insisted that we help in the investigations. With the position I am in, I didn't have a choice. I was also told not to tell anyone about having it here. Word got out somehow, but I'm not sure how. All of the Professors that knew it was here have been questioned under Veritaserum and none of us have said anything about it to anyone."

Augusta frowned. "Who was the person that insisted in the Ministry? I think we'll be dealing with them. This is not acceptable for a school. The Hall of Mysteries would have been a better place to hold such an object."

"I thought so as well, but apparently, the Unspeakables wouldn't let anyone that wasn't an Unspeakable in there to examine the Staff. The rest of the Ministry wouldn't accept that and a woman named Dolores Umbridge suggested having it here. I tried to fight it, but she had the backing of the Unspeakables, the Minister and a dozen others with a vested interest in the Staff."

Augusta nodded. "I see. If you'll pardon me, I'm going to go talk to the rest of the board. I think it's time we did something about the Ministry, if they're going to be endangering the students." She looked at Alice. "I'll be checking back regularly. I'm going to Arcturus Black first. He's going to be the biggest problem on the Board, so I'll start with him." She used the Floo and disappeared.

Alice was staring into space. "What do you think happened? I know you don't know much about it yet, but what do you think happened?"

Professor McGonagall stood up and took a thick book down from the shelf. "This is everything we know or think about the Staff, including old legends and myths." She leafed through the book until she found the section she was looking for. "This is the only thing that might account for what happened." She passed the book to Alice.

Alice read the section the Headmistress had shown her and then read it again. The language was archaic and it took her a few seconds to understand what it said. She looked up at Professor McGonagall. "But we're not of Merlin's blood."

"Are you sure about that? All of the old families are intermarried. If there is any of Merlin's blood left, you have as good a chance of having it as any other family."

Alice frowned. "He's eleven. He's not ready for this."

"I didn't want it here either, Alice. Between the Weasley twins poking their noses into everything, Harry Potter and the chances that he would take after his father, I must assuredly did not want that here this year."

Alice Longbottom smiled. "I hear that they might have pulled a prank or two this year."

The Headmistress looked at her. "Yes, and I think you know your Neville is right in the thick of things."

Alice smiled, her eyes far away for a minute before coming back. "Those were better times, weren't they? Nothing to worry about except waking up covered in fur or something."

Professor McGonagall shook her head. "He was still out there, but he was more circumspect then, only attacking the ones that couldn't fight back, that would disappear without a trace." She looked at the younger woman. "But I think you found that out in your seventh year, or was there some other reason you became an Auror?"

"No, Frank would have let me be anything I wanted, but Mary's death opened my eyes to a lot of things I hadn't seen before that." She shook her head. "None of that is helping us find Neville though."

Professor McGonagall sighed. "If that legend is true, we're not going to find Neville until he is returned to us."

Alice was staring at the book they had been looking at. "That's what I'm afraid of," she said softly.

_**OoOoOoO Frank Longbottom, Longbottom Estate, 09May91 OoOoOoO**_

Frank frowned as he studied the instruments that guarded and warded the Longbottom heir. They had watched over Frank when he had been Neville's age as they had warded the Longbottom heirs for more than five hundred years.

Albus Dumbledore would have recognized them, he'd had a set just like them made for Harry Potter years ago and they had sat in his office until the night he'd fled after being revealed as Mordred.

They were simple things really, able to tell anyone that knew how to read them the location and physical condition of the person who's blood was the current focus. It would only tell you if the person was dead, alive or injured, but that was generally enough for the families. Few of the old blood families these days went for more than that.

Frank frowned at them again and waved his wand at the instruments. The spell showed him the same thing; Neville was alive and healthy, but could not be located. The detectors were working fine, which meant Neville was beyond the limits of what the devices could see.

Since they could use the simplest of magic, sympathetic magic, to find the rest of Neville's blood even in Unplottable areas and other protected places, that should be impossible. He sighed and started toward the Floo. Alice was not going to like this at all.

_**OoOoOoO Augusta Longbottom, Grimmauld Place , 09May91 OoOoOoO**_

Augusta stepped up to the door and tapped the door knocker with her wand. It opened almost instantly. "I happened to be looking out the window and saw you approaching," the man said to her obvious surprise. "Won't you come in?" Augusta followed him down the hallway, suppressing a shudder at the dark and cold décor. Now was not the time to complain that this house not suitable.

She accepted a seat and told Arcturus her tea preferences. He sent a House Elf after it and turned to look at her. "Pardon me for being blunt, but I'll feeling the years and I'm in pain all the time these days. You don't like me or my family, I don't like you or your family, so why are you here?"

Augusta almost smiled at the gambit he was playing. She'd been a fifth year Prefect with Arcturus, although in different Houses and she been on the Board of Governors for Hogwarts with him for thirty-eight years now and he had always had a way to disconcert anyone he was talking to for the entire time she'd known him.

She shrugged. "It's simple. The Ministry is interfering with Hogwarts and one of the students has disappeared. It's time we did something about it."

Arcturus frowned. "Who is missing?"

"My grandson, Neville."

The senior Black blinked and then frowned. "I am sorry to hear that. We are too few to have our futures disappear. Tell me what happened."

She gave him a brief synopsis of the morning and he frowned, both startled and hopeful. "Harry Potter fought the Dark Lord again, hmm? That means he does live still. I had hoped, but to have it confirmed is a relief. I was afraid that I would go to my grave without knowing." He saw her look. "Come now, Augusta. We've known each other too long for us to have lies between us. I want the Old families to remain at the top forever. This Dark Lord wants that as well. Of course I support him."

"We will have to agree to disagree on that. I think the people that belong at the top will rise there. Breeding and family will help, of course, but it is not the most important thing, or have you forgotten how the last of the Gaunt line went?" She shook her head. "I will come back another day to discuss that, however. I owe you that much for agreeing to see me. Right now, I have an urge to do some very bad things to the people responsible for my grandson's disappearance and I need your backing. Even a letter stating your support will be enough."

The old man smiled at her. "I understand how you feel, but I cannot help you." He raised one hand as she started to protest. "Not because I won't, because I can't. I have handed my seat to another." He smiled again. "I might have been wrong about Sirius. He came and asked, but when I insulted him, he had very Slytherin plans in place. I had no choice but to step down and let Sirius take my place as the Hogwarts Board of Director's Chairman. I doubt he'll keep the chair past the first meeting, but then I would have said he would never sit on the board in the first place."

Augusta frowned, thinking about the people on the board. "That gives the Windenmere group a simple majority at least. I wonder if any of the other seats have changed hands recently?"

Arcturus frowned. "I didn't think the Windenmeres had any seats, except the Greengrass one, how do they have a simple majority?"

Augusta ticked them off on her fingers. "The Greengrass and Black seats they hold outright now, the Malfoy seat is in trust for Draco and being voted by his guardian, Sirius Black. The Hopkirk and Robards seats are not theirs, but the Windenmere people control their votes by various means and the Ogden seat has never opposed them in any vote the Windenmeres wanted to go a certain way. I don't know why, but that's the way he's always voted."

Arcturus frowned. "Ogden. The elder Ogden is on the Wizengamot, isn't he? I think you'll find that his oldest daughter is married to one of the Windenmeres. I believe one of the Greengrasses."

Augusta nodded. "I see. I didn't know that. But in any case, that gives them six of the nine seats. They can pass any simple vote without a problem now. I wonder what they have up their sleeves."

Arcturus smiled. "Whatever it is, Sirius promised me that the Ministry was going to hate it. He swore it on his magic. Despite his liberal ideas, I will be watching this with some anticipation." He frowned at Augusta. "All of that aside, I hope your grandson returns safely."

Augusta rose. "So do I. I must go and set my plans in motion, but I will remember to return and argue with you about our opinions, if you're not in too much pain to have guests."

Arcturus snickered. "I know you know better, Augusta. Stop by any time."

_**OoOoOoO Sirius Black, the Windenmere compound, 09MAY91. OoOoOoO**_

Sirius pulled his head from the Floo and looked at Donnetta Greengrass. "You were right, I cannot vote both the Black seat and the Malfoy seat. I'll draw up a document giving you control of the Malfoy seat until Draco is of age, although I will reserve the right to remove you from the seat at any time."

Donnetta looked at him. "I've known you for a decade now, and I never knew that you were so good at political manoeuvrings. Why don't you use your skills more?"

Sirius sighed. "Because I learned to do it at the feet of my father, and when I left home and moved in with James, I swore I'd never be like him. Since all I've ever seen him do is politics, I refused to get involved with them. That doesn't mean I forgot all the things I saw him do, or the skills he was teaching and being around you lot has given me a few more lessons. Some of you Windenmeres plot as naturally as you breathe."

Donnetta smiled and kissed Sirius on the cheek. "Why thank you, Sirius. That may be one of the nicest things you've ever said to me."

Sirius shook his head as he headed to his room to draw up the proxy document for Donnetta. "Mental, that one is, absolutely mental."

_**OoOoOoO Harry and friends, Hogwarts, 09MAY91. OoOoOoO**_

Amelia Bones looked at the notes she had made while Harry and his friends told her how they'd gotten through the defences around the Staff of Merlin. "So, the dog was asleep, the Devil's Snare was sidestepped by Neville, and Harry caught the key in the next room?"

Harry shook his head. "No," he corrected, "The next room was the chess set, which Daphne bypassed by guessing the password. It was the room after that that had the broomstick and keys."

Amelia looked at him. This whole thing smelled to her, but something about the way Harry and his friends had told the story about that room didn't sit right with her. They were hiding something from her, she was sure of it, but she didn't know what questions to ask. She made a mental note to look into it later. "After that, you passed through a room with a fire trap and then a room full of some sort of sticky potions. Was that everything?"

Harry nodded. "The last room was the one you found us in."

Amelia nodded. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Zabini, Miss Greengrass, Miss Granger, this event is under investigation and is to be considered a Ministry secret until I tell you differently. Do you understand this charge?" Amelia spoke formally and the kids looked at each other and back at her before nodding soberly. "Good. Now, I believe it is nearly lunch and you had better go and get something to eat. I have to call the Ministry and I think once they get here, you may not get any peace for a few hours or possibly days."

Harry rose and led his friends out of the room. As they walked to the Great Hall, Harry looked around. "Hermione, you can't tell anyone about what we did this morning, not even your parents. There are some very severe penalties for breaking a Ministry secret, so before you say anything, even to one of us, make sure you have a silencing spell up."

Hermione nodded. "Why is it such a big deal? We didn't do anything wrong, did we?"

Daphne coughed at Harry's look. "Not much, Hermione. But, the Staff of Merlin is always a Ministry Secret. By knowing where it was last, we've joined the people that cannot talk about it."

Hermione nodded as she thought about it, but her quick mind had also caught that first part of that sentence. "I can understand that, but what did you mean by 'not much'"?

Daphne sighed. "We may have broken one or two rules this morning. The Headmistress did place the third floor corridor off limits."

Blaise shrugged. "Since we kept Voldemort from getting the object, I'm not that worried about it."

As they reached the great hall, they stopped talking about the events of the mornings, splitting up to go to their respective tables. Harry was soon listening to a replay of the Quidditch match. Ravenclaw's young Seeker had Marked the Slytherin Seeker well and out flown him to get the Snitch, giving Ravenclaw the victory. Harry considered the Quidditch standings thoughtfully. Cedric Diggory was a good Seeker and it looked as if the Slytherin team might be defeated in all three matches this year. He frowned as he worried about the Chang girl. None of Harry's regular opponents had ever been happy just Marking and he hadn't dealt with that particular strategy before.

Daphne and Blaise were sitting next to Susan Bones. She looked at them. "Half a dozen people have told me that my mother was here and that you and your friends were seen talking to her. What have you done this time?"

Daphne considered her. The Bones' were good light side people, but they had been Aurors forever and held the rule of the law in very high regard. That simple fact kept the Windenmeres and Bones apart. The Windenmeres were less concerned with laws. "I have been told that I may not speak of it until Watch Commander Bones allows me to."

Susan nodded. She put a few rumours, some overheard comments from home and Harry's questions from earlier together. She looked around and lowered her voice. "Hopkins was working for You-Know-Who, wasn't he? That's why the Aurors were asking him so many questions after Professor Moody died and why Harry was asking about him this morning, just before you all disappeared."

Daphne shrugged, racing to find something to say that would not bend the Ministry secret rules. "I swear that Wayne was not working for Voldemort." She considered Susan. This could be a way to gain an ally. "In fact, I swear that I have not seen Wayne himself since we left for the Holidays."

Susan blinked. That was a foolish oath, Wayne had been here all year. Harry.... Her thoughts changed track abruptly. Daphne had sworn that she had not seen Wayne since the holidays. Wayne's family had died over the holidays, the Aurors had been asking about him, and now he seemed to have disappeared after a fight of some sort with Harry Potter. Susan was not stupid and her family had been investigators for nearly eight hundred years. It did not take her long to put the pieces together.

She grinned at Daphne. "I think, that when I get into the Ministry and read some of the old reports, I'm going to find some fascinating stories in there."

Blaise frowned at her. "You already know you're going to be an Auror?"

Susan stared at him, puzzled. "Of course. There has been a Bones in the Aurors office for seven hundred and sixty four years. What else would I do?"

Blaise shook his head. "Never mind, Susan. I should have known better." Blaise had been told he could be anything he wanted to be and could accomplish for as long as he could remember. The old family attitudes that kept a family doing the same thing for generation after generation was as foreign to his nature as violence.

Susan frowned at him but went back to thinking about what she knew and thought. "Rumour had something powerful on the third floor, although no one knew what exactly," she mused, watching Daphne and Blaise. "Some say it was the Staff of Merlin. If You-Know-Who somehow replaced Wayne, that would be nearly as interesting to him as the Boy-Who-Lived."

Daphne shrugged. "I can't talk about it."

"I'm glad to see you take that seriously, Miss Greengrass." The three jumped as Jane Bones' voice came from behind them. "Susan, drop it. I will tell you as much as you are allowed to know later." She looked at the other two. "The Minister would like to see the four of you. I have told him that you will go directly to the Headmistress' office after you are done eating."

Daphne and Blaise looked at each other and then at Harry, who was talking to Amelia Bones. He looked at them and shrugged, rubbing his eyes with his left hand. Blaise and Daphne looked at each other. Harry wanted to do all the talking? What did he have up his sleeve?

Harry held out his arm and Hedwig landed a minute later. Harry had a parchment ready for her and an owl treat. "I need a favour, Hedwig," he said quietly. "I need you to get this to Sirius as fast as you can, girl. It's very important."

Hedwig bobbed her head, staring at Harry for a second and then launched herself off his arm. She was out of sight in a flash, gone through the owl entrance. Harry relaxed. He looked at Blaise and tapped his elbow, telling him to take his time. Harry didn't know or understand how Hedwig could move so fast, but he was betting that with something this important, she'd break all sorts of speed records.

Harry was sometimes rash, but even he knew his limits and playing any type of word games with a political master like Minister Fudge was well beyond them. Sirius, on the other hand, could invoke his authority as Harry's guardian and protect him. That Sirius would warn Daphne and Blaise's folks was a bonus. Harry checked his watch. He had to waste about forty minutes.

He grinned as he began quizzing Ron Weasley about the match this morning. Weasley was a Quidditch fanatic, more than willing to discuss the nuances of any match for hours, debating what happened with other strategies that they could have used. This would be an easy forty minutes.

_**OoOoOoO Sirius and Augusta Longbottom, The Windenmere Estate. 09MAY91. OoOoOoO**_

"Are we agreed, Madame Longbottom?"

"I believe we are, Wizard Black. I will have your backing in taking the Chair of the Board and you will have my backing in keeping the Ministry out of Hogwarts."

Sirius nodded. 'I will not allow this Umbridge woman to do anything else that puts Harry in danger. She has earned the enmity of the House of Black by doing so and I plan to show people that we have not lost our touch for creative retribution." Augusta blinked. For just a few seconds, Sirius reminded her of his father, with that cold implacable look that meant someone was soon going to be regretting whatever they had done to anger Arcturus. It faded quickly and the cheerful smirk that so many people had seen in Hogwarts returned. "Of course, since my current allies are more principled than I am, it won't be dark... merely bad."

Augusta sighed. "What happened to blue fur, Wizard Black? I seem to recall my son complaining about that once."

Sirius smiled at the memory. "It was a good prank, but this is not a prank. Despite what people think of me, I do know when not to joke. Harry's safety is not a matter for joking."

Augusta looked at Sirius for a long minute. "Wizard Black, I do believe that you may be growing up."

Sirius grinned. "Please don't tell anyone. I do have a reputation to maintain after all." Sirius looked at her. "Plus people tend to underestimate jokers."

Augusta nodded slowly. "How much of your reputation have you created, just to make people do that very thing?"

Sirius shrugged. "About half of it." He grinned again, the familiar look of a thousand pictures over the last ten years. "Of course, my reputation makes it possible to do things to people that no one else could get away with and I do tend to take advantage of that."

Augusta looked at Sirius and made a mental note not to underestimate him. He may have a strange sense of humour, but he had still been raised by one of the most Slytherin families around and he was living with an entire clan of people that embodied everything Slytherin had wanted in his house.

Sirius Black would bear watching.

_**OoOoOoO Maire and Remus, their bedroom, 09MAY1991. OoOoOoO**_

"No, Maire, you cannot simply poison Umbridge," Remus said for the fifth time.

"Why not? No one would know, it would look like natural causes and Delores Umbridge would not endanger Harry Potter again." Maire was simply being herself, Remus knew, and every time she reminded him about the danger Harry had been in facing Voldemort, he twitched as his wolf snarled.

He sighed and continued to soap her back. "We are the good people, Maire and that means we have certain standards, like not poisoning people that annoy us."

"Foolishness, Remus Love. A dead enemy is a good enemy. Harry Potter is too much the Marauder not to find trouble all on his own. Removing this source of trouble would be the safest thing for him and all of us."

Remus winced. She was being logical and she made sense. If it wasn't for the moral side of poisoning someone, she would be correct. Maire didn't have morals as far as Remus knew, though, relying on his input to keep her out of trouble in polite society. "Maire, I am aware that Madame Morgana taught you enough about poisons that you could possibly get away with it, but what if you're wrong? What will happen to us, to Harry, if you are caught?"

Maire sighed. "I am hurt, Remus Lupin, that you think I would be caught by any of the fools in the Aurors. They have not even found Madame Morgana, despite five hundred years of looking." She twisted around in the bathtub to look at Remus. "Do you think me so much less than she is?"

"I said nothing of the sort," Remus said hastily. "I was not even implying it. But if something happens to a high Ministry official, it's not the Aurors I worry about, but the Unspeakables. They may have some things or magic beyond the Aurors."

Maire considered his words. "You may be correct. I must research these people before acting in any way that might bring us into interaction." She finished her turn and sat in Remus' lap. "Thank you for warning me, Remus Love." Maire kisses him with that serious feel that meant she had urges to go further and all discussion of poison and Unspeakables fled Remus' mind.

It was tabled for later thought, but Maire did not forget their conversation.

_**OoOoOoO Umbridge and Fudge, The Ministry, mid morning, 09MAY1991. OoOoOoO**_

"You will have to do something, Delores, or it will be your head on the block. Augusta Longbottom is moving swiftly to extract retribution for the danger to her grandson and Sirius Black has woken up and moved into politics. He is now on the Board of Governors for Hogwarts. Between them and their friends, someone's head will roll for this event and I will promise you, it will not be mine."

Delores Umbridge stared at her boss and part time lover. "You would throw me to the wolves?"

Minister Fudge snorted. "Of course I would, you know that. Did you think that I would be all Gryffindor nobility just because we have had sex a few times? I thought you knew better." He considered her thoughtfully. "If you are that naïve, maybe it's better that you be taken down now. That's too large of a liability right now."

Delores snarled silently. "Don't worry about it. I merely thought you were going to help them get me. I can deal with those people, as long as you do nothing to help them."

Fudge nodded. "I need good allies. I will not help them, unless it looks as if they are going to win. Then you know I will be on the winning side."

Umbridge nodded slowly. "I know that. You always end up on the winning side, no matter what side that may be."

Fudge shrugged. "Of course I do. Staying in office is the only true measure of a successful politician and I will be remembered as one of the best." He looked up at the clock. "Right now, you owe me a "personal" favour."

Delores nodded. "What do you want this time?"

Fudge smiled. "The Wizengamot is out for the day, and I have always wanted to bend someone over the Speaker's podium. We have just enough time before we go to Hogwarts."

He stood up and held out his hand. Delores took it, and a small smile crossed her lips as Fudge led her away. Men were fools, led by their hormones. One day, it would be Fudge being bent over that podium, as long as she could keep him blind to some of her dealings just a bit longer.

That thought made her performance as Fudge used her much better than normal. That and the thought of how she would use her assistant to deflect the heat from her. She was a foolish girl and not very good in bed either. It was time to find someone better.

_**OoOoOoO Harry and his friends, The Headmistress' office, 09MAY91. OoOoOoO**_

Harry looked at Minister Fudge blankly. "I don't understand. Could you rephrase the question?"

Minister Fudge frowned at Harry. "It's a simple question, Mr. Potter. What did you want with the Staff of Merlin?"

Harry shrugged and answered the question. "I don't want anything to do with it. I was following Hopkins. Professor Moody had some suspicions about him and we were keeping an eye on him. When he left in the middle of the match, we followed him."

Minister Fudge stared at Harry suspiciously. He didn't believe for an instant that Potter didn't want the power offered by the Staff of Merlin. Power was the only true reward for work and everyone wanted more power.

Before he could ask the boy any more questions there was a knock at the door. Headmistress McGonagall waved her hand at the door and it opened to reveal a small crowd of people. Sirius led Mrs. Greengrass, Mrs. Longbottom, Mr. Zabini and another wizard through the door. Sirius looked around and offered the two women that had come in with him seats while ignoring Minister Fudge and Umbridge. When they were seated he turned to look at the Headmistress.

Professor McGonagall looked at Sirius and blinked. She'd seen that look a thousand times or more. Sirius and James had worn it almost continuously in their fifth and sixth years. Sirius was up to something. She'd seen that look far too many times to mistake it.

Fudge and Umbridge exchanged a look. This was going to be interesting. Sirius looked at Professor McGonagall. "Pardon our intrusion, Headmistress, but we thought we would find out what happened and why."

Minister Fudge cleared his throat. "There was an item being kept in the school for research purposes. The children came across it and in the process, Neville Longbottom disappeared."

Sirius nodded. "I see. And what was this item?" Sirius knew what had been there of course, but he wanted to see what the official position was. The Board of Governors was meeting in a little over two hours and Sirius wanted to have something to take to them.

Minister Fudge shrugged. "I can't speak of it. It's a secret."

Sirius smirked. "Good secret, Minister. Everyone in Hogwarts knew that the Staff of Merlin was being kept here."

Minister Fudge coughed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sirius stared at him. "Really? So are you claiming that you didn't know what was here?"

Minister Fudge shook his head. "Of course not. I knew, but I cannot speak of it. It is still a secret and I am bound by my oaths."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Speaking as a member of the Board, I must insist that you tell us what the Staff of Merlin was doing here."

Minister Fudge looked stubborn. "I cannot talk about it," he insisted.

Madame Longbottom frowned at him. "You will talk to us about it, Minister. You have endangered the students of Hogwarts." She looked around. "I believe we will dismiss these students." She pinned Minister Fudge to his chair with a stern look as he opened his mouth. "You are going to talk, Minister. Or the Board of Governors will be forced to tell the entire community that the Ministry has done something to endanger the students."

Minister Fudge looked around and saw no support in any of the faces around him. "Mr. Potter, take your friends away. There may be some questions later."

Harry wasted no time in standing up and heading for the door with the others right behind him.

The five of them went down the stairway and passed the gargoyle. Harry frowned as he walked and thought. "Sirius is up to something."

Blaise snorted derisively. "You think? I would like to know what Solicitor Underhill was doing here."

Daphne rolled her eyes. "That should be obvious. He's representing Hermione's parents. Sirius had all our folks there but Hermione's parents can't enter Hogwarts, even if they could be reached this quickly. I assume that Sirius or my mum arranged to have him available if needed." She thought about it for a minute. "I would bet on my mum, Sirius wouldn't think of your parents. He's a bit oblivious to anything non magical."

Hermione was frowning. "That means someone is going to tell my parents about today."

The others looked at her. "Yes," Harry said, "So what? It's not like you are going to be in that much trouble."

Hermione shook her head as they passed another corner and headed towards the main doors. "My parents were not happy about me going off to school in a magical place they couldn't visit. Muggle legends and stories are full of things that sound very disturbing to people that can't do magic and they didn't want me coming here at all. If they get the idea that I might be in danger in school, they won't let me come back."

The other three were silent as they walked outside and started toward the lake. Daphne was the first to break the silence. "But, if they pull you out of Hogwarts, where would you go?"

Hermione shrugged. "I can go almost anywhere. My scholastic scores are high enough that most schools will take me."

"But if you don't finish your magical education, you won't be allowed to do magic." Blaise and Daphne looked at each other. Raised in a magical home, with a magical heritage that went back centuries, they couldn't imagine not having magic. Harry didn't like the idea either, but he'd met enough people in the Muggle world to know that it was possible.

Hermione sighed, thinking about the arguments she'd had with her parents. "My parents wouldn't mind that at all."

_**OoOoOoO Neville, The Mists of Magic, 09May91. OoOoOoO**_

Neville lay on his back, gasping for air. He pulled his arm in, wincing at the pain of his burns, looking at the wand in his hand. It had started as the Staff of Merlin when the 'tests' began and had changed only after he had shattered his wand in one of the trials.

Neville had lost track of the times he had been dropped into a situation and forced to make decisions. The first few had been simple, but they had quickly become more complex and demanding.

Then the tests had gotten harder, becoming dangerous. They had come faster as well, pushing Neville to his limits and in a couple of cases, beyond them. Neville was certain that he would have died at least twice if this had been real.

"_You have died. Three times so far. In any place but this one, you would be dead. Here, reality is based on the strength of the user's magical and will and my will is stronger than yours. I control this place and it does not suit my will that you die yet."_

Neville blinked and looked at the wand he held. He'd forgotten how many times it had spoken to him, giving him the information he needed for each test and answering his questions. "So, what happens now? Are there going to be more tests?"

"_No. You are done with tests for now. Later, we shall return here and you will have more tests, but you are too young, too innocent to set those tests before you now. You would only die. Shortly, you will go back. You are of my blood and you have the strength and courage I require. Time shall tell me if you will be the man I am waiting for."_

"What are you waiting for?" Neville frowned as he thought. Most of the tests had not tested strength or courage that he could tell.

"_Physical courage is the least of all strengths, lad. Moral courage means far more than the ability not to scream in the face of a dragon. Physical strength is for people without the mental strength to do what needs to be done, without the intelligence to find the correct way. I couldn't care less about your physical appearance. That can be changed with a potion, a skill, a spell. Who you are deep inside, that is far more important than the body you wear now."_

Neville coughed as he sat up. "You'll understand if I disagree. You might have been able to heal any injury, change your shape or remake the world, but I'm hurting and it is of some concern to me."

He looked down, taking stock of his injuries. His left arm was tucked into his belt, hanging limp and twisted after he'd wrenched his arm out of its socket. Painful, but not important. It would be fixed quickly when he got home. The sleeve covering his right arm was burned away and painful blisters had risen on his forearm. It felt worse than the time his experiment had gone wrong and burnt him, so he took the time to wrap his forearm with a bit of his shirt. Tying the bandage was difficult and he took a minute to rest after he was done. He thought that was the worst of it, since nothing else hurt that much.

"_Why are you bothering with that? Just heal it."_

Neville rolled his eyes and then stared at the wand. "I'm not you. You might be able to make a motion and create raw magical effects from the air, but I need a spell and a wand, along with some practice first."

"_Are you being deliberately obtuse or are you truly that foolish? Why do you need a wand?"_

"Because uncontrolled magic is impossible to control. The wand acts as a focus to enforce my will on the magic, allowing me to cast a spell and get the effect that I want." Neville said automatically, having been told that a dozen times or more while he was growing up. Everyone knew that only babies and mentally defective people did uncontrolled magic.

"_Lad, you had the ability to do magic before you had a wand, correct?"_

"Yes."

"_And you did things without knowing spells, correct?"_

"Yes."

"_Then why do you need the wand now? Magic is a force, nothing more. Your will makes it do what you want. Using a wand makes it easier to do things, true. Using a spell that you have practised a thousand times helps as well. That's not the end of magic though. Magic can be used in a thousand ways. Some Mages use blood to power their magic, some use other things. None of those things will work though, if you don't have the ability to do magic in the first place."_

Neville frowned, thinking about all the things he'd been told about magic. _"Look, lad. If it helps any, doing magic using only your will is very hard on the earth as you know it. Here, the very fabric of reality is magic. You can do things here that you'll never match at Hogwarts."_

Neville nodded, looking at his arm. The burns were throbbing badly and he shrugged. It wouldn't hurt to try at least. "What do I do?"

"_Close your eyes and picture your arm as it should be. Imagine the flex and play of the muscles under the skin, the way it feels, everything about it." _ Neville was trying but the pains from various parts of his body was distracting him. _"Fine. This once, lad, I will show you. From now on, you'll do it." _

Neville was shunted aside, able to see and hear, but not in control of his body. The pain went away and he watched as his right arm healed, the blisters and redness of the burn fading away in less than a minute. His head turned and he watched as his right hand pulled his left hand out of his belt.

He winced mentally at the wet popping sound that was his arm sliding back into its socket. That was going to be sore. He watched in awe as his body stood up and his injuries disappeared, fading away to nothing. He nearly fell over as the voice in the wand released control of his body back to him.

"_Neville, you will be sent back to Hogwarts. I am satisfied that you could be worthy. I am afraid that you are still too young to wield the Staff yet. I will also be watching you, Neville Longbottom. You have shown great promise and if you reach manhood without significant change, we will stand here once more."_

Neville sighed. "Do you mind if I ask a question?" The wand assented. "Why has your voice changed so much? When I arrived, you were 'Thy' and 'thou', and now you sound like any Wizard."

"_Because I keep the speech pattern of the last wizard to visit. It has been four hundred years since someone has been brave enough to touch the Staff of Merlin and had my blood."_ The wand's voice changed then, becoming amused. _ "Besides, that speech is great for scaring the shit out of people."_

Neville shook his head. "I get taken away by a mysterious artefact and it's got the same sense of humour as my friends."

The voice was still amused. _"Did you think I was just this All Powerful Mage, worried only about the Fate of the World, Righting Great Wrongs and Rescuing the Helpless?"_ Neville winced at the sarcastic tone and the capital letters he could almost hear. He tried not to think that that was exactly what he'd thought of Merlin. _"Lad, even the most serious Mage must have a hobby or something to do that isn't magic. Those that spend too much time with their magic soon go insane or evil. Magic is a tool to use, not a passion to get lost in."_

"_Right now lad, it's time for you to go. You have spent as much time in the Mists as anyone human can. If you stay any longer, you won't be able to leave."_ The voice sighed. _"One day soon, we shall speak again, but for now, I want you to forget everything that happened here. You'll understand when you remember."_

Before Neville could say anything he felt himself falling asleep. His vision faded to black before his hands hit the ground.

The wand rose slowly from the ground and a large shelf of books appeared before it. The shelf disappeared and other things took its place, only to disappear.

"_Are you certain you want to do this, my friend?"_

A figure came out of the mists, looking at the wand and Neville. _"No, but I have no choice. Without contact with the mortal world, I'll remain here forever. I tire of living as a voice. I want to walk in the world again, to feel and -"_

"_You mean you want to find a way to die, so that you can move on to the next world." _ The wand pointed at the figure, examining the tall human that stood there. She was close to two meters tall and dressed in chain mail made of bronze. She carried a bronze sword at her side and had blue designs painted on her face. Her eyes were a brilliant blue and her hair was a reddish gold colour, hanging past her shoulders and blowing freely around her shoulders, touched by some breeze that swirled around her.

"_Yes, that too. We have watched over this world for centuries. You still feel something for this world, but my ties were never as strong and I no longer care. That's not a good thing for someone in my position, as you know well."_

The woman nodded. _"Only too well. I will not hinder you. Goddess bless you and watch over you."_ She looked at the wand for a minute longer and then was simply gone.

Merlin changed the shape of his new form, matching the wand Neville had brought with him perfectly. He used the power of the magical world he was in to hide several things in Neville's memory and then hid even the memory of the tests from Neville. He checked his work, making sure everything was just as he wanted it and hesitated. Once out of this land, he would have almost no power, only the ability to speak, and that only in areas was magic was concentrated.

Merlin shook his head mentally. There was nothing else he could do. Long ago he'd been trapped in this land and now only a physical body in the mortal world could keep him there. He took a deep breath and leaped into the void.

_**OoOoOoO Harry and friends, Hogwarts, 15May91. OoOoOoO**_

It had been six days since Neville disappeared, six long days. The Ministry had questioned everyone and then the Unspeakables had come and questioned them all again. Then the Board of Governors had questioned the students that had been involved again.

Rumours and speculation were running rampant. Neville had been killed, Neville was the Heir of Merlin and was being trained by him, Harry and his friends had killed Neville, every variation of anything people could dream up was being whispered in hallways and common rooms.

Harry, Blaise, Hermione, Daphne and Draco were questioned endlessly by the other students as well, and only Daphne's threats kept Draco and Harry from spreading even worse rumours. Harry was becoming sullen. He had led Neville and the others into the room and he felt responsible for Neville.

The five of them were sitting in the study room when there was a flare of white light.

When they could see again, Neville was lying on the floor, pale and with his clothes in tatters.

_**OoOoOoO Harry and Friends, Hogwarts Infirmary, 15MAY91 OoOoOoO**_

"And then I sent Daphne to find you, Professor, while the rest of us brought Neville here." Harry finished telling Professor McGonagall about Neville's reappearance and looked over at the bed where Madame Pomfrey was examining Neville. "Is he going to be OK?"

The Headmistress looked at the Healer. "We will find out as soon as Madame Pomfrey knows, I am sure, Mr. Potter. Why don't you and your friends go back to your study room? I will let you know what happens."

Harry frowned but nodded. He gathered his friends and they started slowly toward the door. Professor McGonagall stood next to Madame Pomfrey as the healer finished her examination of the sleeping boy.

"I don't understand any of this, Minerva," Madame Pomfrey said quietly. "Neville shows signs of serious injuries, broken bones, burns, cuts and more, all inflicted over the last two months."

The Headmistress frowned. "He's only been gone six days. Are you saying that he was being hurt before he disappeared?"

Madame Pomfrey shook her head. "Not at all. I do not know where Mr. Longbottom has been, but he was there for at least two months. You can see where early injuries have healed and other injuries have happened over them. Since most of these wounds would have required him to be brought here, I can safely say none of them happened before he disappeared." She frowned as she waved her wand over Neville again. "I just wish I could figure out how he was healed. If I didn't know it was impossible, I'd say he was healed by accidental magic."

Minerva McGonagall frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You know that spells leave traces, things that will tell a person what spell was used, if they know how to look for them." The Headmistress nodded. "Neville's injuries were healed, but there are no spell traces at all. It's as if someone just willed them healed, using magic without any spells."

Professor McGonagall sighed. "Given where we think he's been, that may not be as far off as you might think."

Madame Pomfrey glanced dubiously at the taller witch. "You don't really believe that Merlin took him away, do you?"

The other woman looked at her for a minute. "What else can we think? He wasn't anywhere he could be found, not even with a Blood Tracker. No spell, ritual or device could find him. He's spent two months there in just six days and not even the strongest Wizard or the best Time Turner can do that. Do you have any other explanation?"

Madame Pomfrey shook her head slowly. Before she could say anything, they heard footsteps outside the door and they turned toward the door. The Longbottoms stopped just in side the door, their eyes searching for Neville. Alice was the first to see him and she rushed to his side. Madame Pomfrey was reassuring her that Neville was fine as Frank Longbottom stopped by the Headmistress. He listened to what Madame Pomfrey was saying for a minute and then looked at Professor McGonagall. "Where has he been?"

"We don't know yet. He was unconscious when he appeared in the room Mr. Potter and his friends have been using to study and hasn't woken yet." She sighed, watching Alice brush Neville's hair with one hand. She told him about the conversation she'd been having with the healer. "The only thing wrong with him now is exhaustion and Madame Pomfrey says he should wake tomorrow, probably around noon." She gave him a small smile. "Madame Pomfrey says that as soon as his hunger is greater than his exhaustion, he'll wake up normally."

Frank nodded, his eyes on his only son. "Do you mind if we stay until he wakes up?" Despite his phrasing, it wasn't a question and Minerva McGonagall raised one eyebrow as she glanced at Alice.

"Do I have a choice?" she asked wryly as Frank went to sit next to Neville's bed.

"No, not really."

_**OoOoOoO Hermione's parents, At home, 15MAY91. OoOoOoO**_

"Then we're agreed?"

"Of course we are. Hermione could have been killed. There is no way I'm allowing her to return to that death trap next year."

Dan and Emma Granger were sitting on the porch overlooking the garden behind their house. Solicitor Underhill had been by the day before to explain what had happened to Hermione nearly a week prior and they had been discussing it since they had come back from work.

Dan and Emma had known that there was something different about Hermione for years, ever since a colouring book she wanted had floated across the room to her when she was four. There had been other incidents since then, mostly when Hermione was upset or deep in her books.

They had been at once relieved and worried to find out what it was when the owl had delivered the Hogwarts letter. Relieved that she would be able to control it and yet, the fairy tales had hundreds of examples of magic gone wrong.

Most people only see the modern versions of fairy tales, where good always lives happily ever after. Fewer people have read the original versions of those tales and fewer still know about the other tales, that aren't so nice.

Emma had studied dentistry in university but her minor had been mythology and she did know those stories.

They had let Hermione go to Hogwarts so that she could learn to control this talent she had, but they had not been happy about sending their daughter to a school that they couldn't find and where the only way to contact the school was by sending a note with a nocturnal bird.

This incident was all their fears needed. Hermione would not be returning to that school next year.

_**OoOoOoO Neville, Hogwarts Infirmary, 16MAY91. OoOoOoO**_

Neville woke up slowly and stared at the ceiling in bemusement. It was not the ceiling in Gryffindor, nor was it his ceiling at home. He thought about it for a second and then started to sit up. He didn't make it halfway before a guided mum missile hit him.

Neville was beginning to wonder exactly what was going on. The last thing he remembered was watching the Ravenclaw Hufflepuff Quidditch match and then waking up here. Why or how he'd gotten here was a complete blank. He listened to his mum sniffle for a minute, trying to remember and then stiffened. "We went after Hopkins. What happened to him?"

The next few minutes were a tumult, as Neville tried to find out what had happened, Frank tried to tell him and Alice was torn between scolding Neville for his recklessness and telling him how happy she was that he was back.

Madame Pomfrey watched from the door of her office. She would check on Neville in a minute, but right now, loving parents would do more for him than all of her potions.

_**OoOoOoO Hogwarts Board of Governors, Hogwarts, 16MAY91. OoOoOoO**_

"It is agreed then. Augusta Longbottom will be the Director of the Board."

Augusta nodded regally and looked around. She had many reservations about the number of Windenmeres on the board and in this position she'd be able to keep track of their actions.

Sirius Black looked up. "I am sorry to rush this along, but I have an appointment to keep and there are a couple of things I have to say before leaving." Sirius stood as Augusta Longbottom nodded again. "First, I am voting the Black seat. Since I cannot vote both the Black seat and the Malfoy seat, I am assigning the Malfoy seat to Donnetta Greengrass until Draco Malfoy is of age, Madame Greengrass' death or I revoke that authority."

Sirius looked around the table. "I believe that the Malfoy seat has some matters to bring up. I have discussed those matters with both the Malfoy seat and with Madame Longbottom. Assuming that you accept her ideas as they are laid out, Madame Longbottom will be counting my vote with hers for this session only."

Sirius looked at the other members of the Board again. Reginald Greengrass, as the head of the Greengrass family, held their seat. With Donnetta Greengrass voting the Malfoy seat, Sirius in the Black seat and Tiberius Ogden's oldest daughter married to a Windenmere, they outright controlled four seats openly.

Matthew Hopkirk voted the way Reginald did because Reginald could prove that his sister, Mafalda Hopkirk had long been using her position in the Improper Use of Magic Office to sell information and protection to anyone with the gold.

Egan Robards was a mostly honest man, but he was a member of a failing family. Once, the Robards had been one of the wealthiest families in Britain. Now, they were down to one house with a leaky roof and Egan had been quite open to a bit of bribery. Every time he voted in favour of a Windenmere proposal, one hundred Galleons would be deposited in his vault.

Augusta Longbottom was far too honest and proud to be controlled and the Windenmeres had never tried. Archie Alderton, brother of Arkie Alderton was another one that the Windenmeres had not been able to gain control of, as was Olivia Zeller, mother of Rose and Raymond Zeller. Her children were not in Hogwarts yet, but the Zellers had been on the Board longer than anyone else and Olivia maintained her neutrality with a nearly religious obsession. She only cared about the continuation of the school and its reputation.

Not that any of that mattered now. There were just nine people on the Board and the Windenmeres controlled six of the votes. They could pass any simple vote easily. Only three votes required eight consenting votes.

Removing a Seated member of the Board, closing Hogwarts down and removing the Headmaster of the school. Sirius didn't think any of that was going to be happening any time soon, so he wasn't worried about the three votes that they didn't control. They had time to find some sort of leverage on them all. He shook his head. "That is all I have to say right now. I am due at the Ministry however, so if you will excuse me, I have to go."

Sirius bowed slightly as Augusta Longbottom gave him permission to leave and walked out of the long room. He stopped at the doorway, taking a minute to smile at the portraits on the walls. This room was reserved for the Board of Governors of Hogwarts and the staff of Hogwarts to use and all of the portraits were of staff and Governors.

Some were still only paintings, waiting the death of the person portrayed in them before becoming active, but enough of them had recognized him when he had entered the room to spread the word and Sirius was egotistical enough to enjoy listening to them mutter about having a person of his reputation on the Board.

He grinned as he left. Life was good.

Donnetta watched him leave before turning to the rest of the board. She'd known him long enough o know what he was thinking. She pushed those thoughts out of her head. "We all know what has happened in the last few weeks here at Hogwarts. The Ministry has endangered our children and is threatening the reputation of the school." She frowned severely. "It was bad enough that they allowed that thing to come into the school, but to send it here and not provide adequate protection for it was unforgivable. I propose that we take steps to limit further intrusions on the proper operation of the school."

She took a deep breath. "I also think we need to take a long look at some of the current policies. Hogwarts was set up to be a school, not a Ministry propaganda indoctrination camp and recent events are allowing the Ministry to do things that are not in the best interest of our children."

Olivia Zeller looked at her. "Why don't we discuss what we're going to do about this event before we start revamping the entire system? I think this needs an immediate response or the Ministry will continue to believe they can do whatever they please."

Donnetta smiled slowly. "I think I have a very good idea for" she paused, looking for the right term, "creative retribution." The rest of the board watched her as she laid out the plans Reginald, Donnetta and Sirius had worked out over the last week.

"And last, we need a control on this High Inquisitor position the Ministry has created. Back in the days of Goblin rebellions, it was necessary to make sure that the curriculum taught the correct magics to defend the Wizard community, but now they wish to simply control Hogwarts and that is our responsibility."

Alderton looked up. "The Inquisitor is appointed by the Ministry, outside of our control and answers only to the Minister of Magic, whoever that may be. How do you plan to counteract that?"

"I'm not, Madame Longbottom is."

Augusta looked up. "How do you expect me to do that? I have some influence in the Ministry, but not that much."

Donnetta smiled again. "You don't have to have any influence there. You are the Director of the Board and you have the final authority over the Wards and House elves of Hogwarts." Donnetta smiled again as she began to explain what the Board would have to do. "First, we have to pass a rule that all teachers must be proven experts in their fields."

Three hours later, The Board had voted eight to zero to accept all of the plans that had been laid out. After the voting was over, Olivia Zeller looked at Reginald. "You know that the Ministry will not accept this easily."

Reginald nodded slowly. "I know. But for the sake of our children and all the children at the school, we have to do this." He smiled. "We already have the Blacks and Longbottoms working together on this and the Windenmeres will back them. Together, I think we can match anything the Ministry can do."

Olivia watched him for a minute. "As long as you continue to act in the best interests of Hogwarts, I will help you." She looked at Reginald steadily for a minute. "Just remember that the Zeller line has watched over Hogwarts for eight hundred years. I will not tolerate anything that hurts this school, no matter what plans you may have."

_**OoOoOoO Sirius Black, The Parkinson Estate, 16MAY91. OoOoOoO**_

Sirius watched the groups as he sipped his Firewhiskey. Years of experience and training kept his face still as he mentally sneered at the posturing fools in the large ballroom. He sighed, remembering the days of his childhood when gathering such as this had seemed so dashing and mysterious.

Now he could see the posturing for what it was, the self absorbed foolishness of people too blind to reality to realize that the world was passing them by. Purebloods caught in the dreams of a past that could never be brought back.

He smiled slightly. Not that he had any intentions of telling them that he thought they were stupid or that their dreams were sillier than the creatures in the Quibbler. No, that wouldn't do well at all.

"I am surprised that you are here, Wizard Black. I would have thought you would be less than enthusiastic about our desires."

Sirius turned, looking at Genevieve Parkinson. "I am not here to join your clique at this time," he said evenly. "Not unless you have something better to show than a few old families with little in the way of prospects or funding."

Mrs. Parkinson smiled slyly. "An honest answer, Wizard Black? Isn't there some sort of rule against that at these gatherings?"

Sirius looked at her for a minute. "I think so, but I've always been a bit of a rebel." He smiled slightly. He still remembered watching Genevieve absolutely destroying the collective egos of most of the boys in her year. She'd been one of the four most beautiful women in Hogwarts, right up there with Lily Potter, Bertha Jorkins, and Alice Shingleton. (who had married Frank Longbottom.) She had been a year behind the Marauders and Lily, in the same class with Bertha. Sirius had dated her a couple of times, but Genevieve was far too ambitious for him and they hadn't gotten very far.

She was watching him. "Somehow, I don't think you're the type to change that much, Sirius." Genevieve had lowered her voice as she moved closer to him. "You were all the talk of the old families for a long time you know. Your mother was very upset about you leaving the house and family to follow Potter."

Sirius shrugged. "I didn't like the company you had to keep with Mother's affiliations. They were not in our class."

Genevieve watched him closely. "I think you could mean that several ways, not all of which are good for us."

Sirius smiled openly for the first time. "You can," he said, as he set his drink down. "And since I meant it to be taken that way, I'll be leaving now. You are pleasant company, Witch Parkinson, but this group is useless, for the most part. If this is all you have, I will maintain the pose of neutrality that I have held since I became Harry's guardian. Unless you're hiding something big, you don't have the numbers, the power or the money to seriously affect anything in the Ministry. Please don't waste my time with displays of nothing." He bent over her hand and kissed it. As he came back up he kissed her swiftly on the cheek. "If you wish to talk privately, I an at the Black manor every Thursday afternoon, or someone there will know how to get in touch with me." He looked at her and smiled slightly. "I know you better than this, Genevieve. You are far too skilled to have this as your only group. Show me something stronger than the Windenmeres if you want my backing."

Genevieve Parkinson watched Sirius Black leave with a smile. This was going to make the game so much more fun. Sirius knew how to play the Game of Houses well. She turned to the rest of the group, plastering a smile on her face as she acted as the gracious hostess.

Two hours later the last of the group was gone and she went upstairs to her office. She sat down and began recording her impressions and dealings with every person that had been at the party. She looked up as Harold came into the room but didn't stop until she was done.

"So, what does Black want?" Genevieve hid her wince. Harold had money and a great deal of power as the owner of the Daily Prophet, but he was crass and far too crude to be an asset in her games. She left him to the paper, using his money to consolidate her positions when she needed to and supplying him with enough bits for the paper that he left her alone.

"Power, what else?" She thought about what Sirius had said. "He has opened the door for me to meet with him, but he also implied that If I can't show a power base the size and depth of the Windenmeres, to just stay home."

Harold Parkinson frowned. "Can you muster it?"

Genevieve shrugged, thinking. "Maybe, if I called in a few favours. The real question is if Sirius Black's help is worth it." She stared at the wall, evaluating the possibilities. "I think I'll have to go and talk to him at least, feel him out some more. He's up to something, I know it. I just don't know what yet."

Harold frowned. "Do you think it has anything to do with Hogwarts? Arcturus Black stepped down, allowing Sirius to take his place and Sirius stepped down to allow Augusta Longbottom to run the Board."

Genevieve looked up, evaluating this bit of news. "If Sirius is voting the Black seat, who's voting the Malfoy seat?"

"Donnetta Greengrass."

Genevieve frowned. "Why do the Windenmeres want control of Hogwarts? What are they going to do with it?"

She added the news to her thoughts of the party and stared at the notes. "I really need to know more." She looked up at Harold and smiled softly. "I'm going to be very busy over the next week or so. Shall we go to dinner while we're both here?"

Harold smiled and rose, offering her his arm. He'd never turn down anything Genevieve wanted to do.

_**OoOoOoO Voldemort, Scotland, 16MAY91. OoOoOoO**_

Voldemort savoured the small energy the death of the rabbit gave him and swept on, searching for another creature to kill. It wasn't as bad as the first time he'd been rendered bodiless, but it was going to be at least a year or two before he could try to regain a body again.

He paused for a minute, thinking to himself. Harry Potter was a threat, but only a minor one, properly played. Voldemort has lost this round because he was too impatient, too arrogant. He'd have to remember that next time. As long as his Horcruxes were intact, he couldn't die. He had time to plan.

He looked up as something moved and moved toward the lamb cavorting in the field. He would be back and Harry Potter would die the next time they met.

_**OoOoOoO Mordred, Hogwarts, 16MAY91. OoOoOoO**_

"Check." He smiled at his opponent.

Harry frowned, searching for a way out of this mess. The boy sitting across from him still had both his castles, his queen and his knights while Harry had his king and one pawn.

He looked up and sighed as he knocked his king over. "You're nearly as bad as Ron."

Mordred grinned. "I am a Ravenclaw. It would reflect badly on me if I wasn't at an acceptable level." He gestured at the board. "Would you care to try again?"

Harry shook his head with a smile. "No, thanks. I can only handle so much humiliation a day and that game gave me more than enough for today."

The two boys packed the game away, chatting casually. Mordred looked at Harry when they were done. "Harry, are you doing anything right now?"

Harry shrugged. "Not for a bit, why?"

"There's a rumour that you know a blocking spell that stops curses and physical attacks both. Is that true?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, you want to learn it?"

Mordred grinned at Harry as he led the way to the room the study group used for spell casting. "What house am I, Harry?"

Harry shook his head, smiling at the other boy as they closed the door. "That was a stupid question, wasn't it?"

Later that night, Mordred sat on his bed and thought. Harry was very good for his age and worse yet, he was more than willing to teach what he knew to anyone that wanted to know.

Mordred's personal plans to turn all of England into his personal fiefdom would be made immeasurably harder if the place was full of well trained and intelligent wizards and witches. He sighed and began giving serious thought to just killing Harry Potter.

In the end, he decided to wait. His other plans were just getting started and it was far too early for him to give up on them already.

After all, after the summer holidays, he'd know exactly where Harry was and could kill him at any time. There was no rush.

_**OoOoOoO Harry and crew, Hogwarts, 16MAY-18JUNE91. OoOoOoO**_

Neville had been held by the Unspeakables for two days and questioned intently and repeatedly. As far as the Unspeakables could tell, no time at all had passed for Neville between chasing after Hopkins and waking up in the Infirmary. He had no memory of anything in between, no signs of having been Obliviated, nothing. Mentally, it was as if he'd gone from disappearing to waking up in an instant.

Physically, it was very clear he'd been though multiple fights, violent ones during the time he was gone and from the conditions of the healed injuries, they had taken place over some two months of time, far longer than he'd been gone.

In short, the entire thing was impossible and the Unspeakables regretfully let Neville go back to school.

His reunion with the rest of the crew was loud, happy and nearly killed Neville again as the entire group tried to hug him all at once. When he could breathe again, he told them everything that had happened from his point of view, which took all of four minutes or so.

Hermione stared at him and then looked around, lowering her voice. "What about the Staff of Merlin?"

Neville shrugged. "From my point of view, I never even saw the bloody thing. I grabbed a desk, blacked out and woke up in the Infirmary. As far as I know, it's still wherever they had it hidden."

Harry rolled his eyes. "It's not there, Neville, trust us on that. They've searched that room a million times and asked us a billion questions about the Staff, to the point where I wish you'd brought it back, just to get them off our backs."

Later that night, several shapes ghosted silently through the halls. They had decided to celebrate Neville's return with a small prank.

The next morning, the group was at breakfast early, sitting with their back to the wall where they could easily get out of the way. Everything seemed normal until the owl post had come and gone.

Harry's sharp eyes were the first to see the dot growing larger in the enchanted ceiling. He nudged Hermione and pointed it out. The others soon saw it. Soon, several people saw it as it became larger and larger.

Within a few minutes, it was clear that a dragon was flying in the illusion that covered the ceiling. By now, everyone was watching the dragon, a large Welsh Green, according to one of the seventh year students. The Dragon appeared to fly around and then look down. It settled, extending its claws as if to settle to the ground and that was when things went very much sideways.

The dragon dropped out of the ceiling and settled on the Slytherin table. The creature looked around slowly. The students were dumbfounded, staring at the dragon as it looked around. Then it seemed to cough a little and clear its throat.

Its head went up and it seemed to smile. "I hope you don't mind my dropping in for breakfast," it said in an upper class British accent, "but I've heard so many good things about the food."

The students stared at the dragon, stupefied by a talking dragon.

It was a first year Hufflepuff that broke the dead silence. Kevin McCormick, a Muggleborn Wizard, turned and looked at his sponsor, the older Hufflepuff that had helped him get settled in during his first few months in the Wizard world and at Hogwarts. "I thought you said dragons were dangerous," he said, "but this one seems quite polite."

The hall erupted in laughter, since Kevin and the "dragon" had exactly the same accent.

The dragon disappeared a second later as Harry dispelled it. They hadn't been counting on Kevin saying anything and the dragon was supposed to do a couple of other things, but this was even better. He turned his head to say something to Hermione and caught sight of Professor McGonagall staring at him. He smiled innocently and waved at her.

The headmistress stared at him for a minute and then her eyebrow went up a fraction. Harry froze, watching her as she almost smiled, and mouthed seven words at him.

"_You will pay for that, Mr. Potter."_

The entire scene had gone by so quickly no one but Harry had seen it. Harry stared at Professor McGonagall as he considered all the ways the Headmistress of the school could make him pay. He stood up and nodded to the Headmistress as he left the dining hall.

Once out the doors, he walked rather quickly to the study hall and sat in the corner, where he could see the door. He sighed as he thought about it. His first impulse had been to get it over with quickly, to get it over with.

Sirius would never let him hear the end of it though. It was Sirius' boast that no one but another Marauder had ever managed to prank a Marauder. He had to at least try to escape whatever Professor McGonagall had planned.

Harry kept his eyes open for the next three days, growing more and more nervous as nothing happened. He thought that the Headmistress was taking a page from his book, showing him what Theo Nott had been going through, but when he broached that idea to her, she looked at him calmly and turned to leave, murmuring, "Patience is a virtue I am well acquainted with, Mr. Potter."

Saturday, the weekend before the end of year exams were to start, Harry woke up and knew something was wrong. The room was too chilly, Ron Weasley wasn't snoring and it was far too bright.

He sat up and blinked. His bed was floating on the lake. Harry reached for his wand but it wasn't under his pillow. He looked up as a Hogwarts owl swooped down.

_Mr. Potter,_

_Your books and notes are at the foot of your bed. Since the bed will not move until 1200, and you cannot leave the bed, I suggest you do some studies for the exams. They do start next week._

_Professor McGonagall_

Harry sighed and tried to slip off the bed a couple of times, just to see. When he couldn't leave the mattress he sighed. He reached for his History of Magic notes.

By noon, Harry was quite certain that every single student in Hogwarts had been out to watch him floating in the lake and that most of them had taken pictures. Even, he was annoyed to see, his friends. The people standing around the shore began clapping and laughing as his bed sailed majestically toward the shore.

They laughed even harder when the bed suddenly vanished, dumping Harry in the very cold lake just a few feet from shore.

_**OoOoOoO Rhian, Number 14, Knockturn Alley, 12JUN91. OoOoOoO**_

Rhian watched her last customer leave, pulling his hood up and making sure that no one was obviously watching before exiting the small shop.

She pulled her wand and closed the door, locking it and pulling the blinds over the small dingy windows before turning towards the back of the store. She smirked as she counted the money she'd made today. The British wizards were foolish, but her clientèle had enough money to make her over look their idiocy. She'd been open for barely a month now and word was slowly spreading among the Purebloods that Rhian had access to things that you couldn't buy openly in Diagon Alley and that she didn't care what your name was.

She looked up as the door to the back room opened and a man came out. He was a tall dark man, with black hair and a decidedly evil cast to his face. The flame bladed dagger he wore on his hip didn't make him appear any better.

He checked the door and came up behind her. "Mr. Nott wanted some interesting things, didn't he?"

"He did. I think Madame Morgana might be interested in this list." The woman stretched and spoke softly. A second later, Maire stood where Rhian had been. Remus smiled at her and said his name before kissing her gently. After they pulled away, he looked at the list of potion ingredients and other things that the head of the Nott family had requested. Maire anticipated his question. "Some of the things that Madame Morgana taught I may not share with anyone and some of these things are for at least one of those potions. If the Nott is asking for them, the old Madame Morgana has been telling tales out of school. Madame Morgana will have to do something about it."

Remus nodded. "We'll have to talk to her. We don't want to blow your cover yet."

"I know this, Remus Lupin. The old money families are just beginning to trust me and we need to know which of them are truly dark by the standards of today." She pocketed the list and turned to smile at him as he caressed her belly, rubbing the mound that their child was making of her belly. "Right now, I have been on my feet for hours and I want to sit down and let you rub them."

Remus smiled. "As you wish." A few seconds later, the shop was empty.

_**OoOoOoO The Windenmeres, The Greengrass home, 20JUN91. OoOoOoO**_

Reginald looked around. The library in the Greengrass house was one of the nicer rooms in the house, long and well lit, with a dozen large windows showing the gardens in the back of the house. It was lined with shelves built into the walls and had seven tables for serious study and research as well as a number of comfortable chairs for more casual reading.

He looked up as a motion caught his eye and the last two people he was waiting for came in and joined the group. "Maire, Remus," he greeted them. "Any problems?"

Maire shook her head. "Not at all."

Reginald nodded. "Then let's get down to work. This is the last time we'll be able to meet and talk about everything we're doing before the children come back from Hogwarts without having to make sure they're not listening."

Sirius looked up. "Just out of curiosity, why are we keeping things from them? Nothing we're doing is that bad and it's not like they're not going to know we have to be involved in some of the things that are happening around them."

Reginald shrugged. "Of course they will. First, it's simply common sense. What they don't know they can't tell anyone, by accident or coercion. Second, it's a good way to train them in the Game of Houses. If they can figure out what we're doing and more importantly, who is involved, it will be a better lesson. Third, and at this time more important, we must not allow the people watching us to think we're teaching Harry anything questionable."

Sirius blinked. "We're not teaching him anything dark."

Donnetta stared at him and sighed. "Sirius, to you and the family you came from, the Game of Houses may not be dark, but it is a game of spying, lying and intrigue for profit and information. It involves blackmail, bribery, the occasional assault and general untrustworthy behaviours. To most wizards, that is very questionable, bordering on dark."

Sirius frowned and looked at Remus for confirmation. Remus nodded. "Sirius, the average wizard looks at the games the old money families play the same way you think of politicians."

Sirius winced. "Right. We don't want people knowing that Harry is learning to play the game then." He thought about it. "Not that I'm going to say anything, but won't people assume that you are teaching him things he shouldn't know, just because of your reputation?"

Reginald nodded. "Of course they will. As long as there is no evidence, they won't do anything though. Most people will turn a blind eye to anything that doesn't directly affect them. As long as we don't go parading his training in front of them, they'll assume it's not happening."

He pulled a pad to him and looked at his notes. "Right. Maire, how's your work going?"

Maire shrugged. The dark families are sneaky, wilful and totally oblivious to the possibility that I want anything except money. Remus and I have already gotten invited to a small gathering. It's in a week and we'll let you know what happens."

Sirius frowned. "Do you know who's going to be there?" At Maire's negative response he frowned again. "You need to watch out for the Cuffe family. They have a fear of werewolves and most of them carry a charm that detects werewolves."

The rest of them looked at Sirius. "Where did you learn that little bit?" asked Madame Morgana. "I never knew that."

Sirius shrugged. "A few years ago, one of my ancestors might have threatened to end their line by having a pack of werewolves eat them. He made a couple of tries, but they were too well protected then and he dropped it. But he never told them that so they're still waiting for his revenge."

Remus frowned. "You never mentioned that before."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "It was three hundred years ago. If I tried to tell you everything my ancestors had done for the last three hundred years, we'd be talking for a year."

Reginald made another note and looked at Madame Morgana. "Will your spell protect Remus from that charm?"

She shook her head. "No. Nothing can truly disguise a man's nature. You can mislead the senses, change the outer shell of a man, but not change his inner nature. Being a werewolf is as much a part of Remus Lupin as being the moral man he is." She frowned as she thought about it. "That's the reason the Curse is so effective. It's the only thing I have ever found that alters the fundamental nature of a being."

Reginald frowned. "We'll have to work something out then. If nothing else, we'll make some sort of an excuse for him and Maire can go alone."

Remus looked up, snarling. "Like hell she's going into that nest of vipers alone."

Maire looked at him. "Remus Lupin, I understand that you have feelings about this, but I can defend myself." Maire's voice had a cold undercurrent in it.

Remus looked at her. "We will discuss this later," he said. "Right now, we have other business to talk about." Remus smiled at her put his hand over hers. "It's more fun to fight when we're alone anyway." Maire looked at him and nodded once.

Remus frowned as the group discussed the political games going on in the Board of Governors for Hogwarts. He hadn't liked this plan in the first place and it was only his ability to watch over Maire while she pretended to be a Dark Witch that had persuaded him to allow it.

Maire was getting into places even Sirius couldn't go though. Most wizards never knew there was an undercurrent of truly evil beings hiding in the shadows of the Wizard world and no one got into that society without being evil. Voldemort was Dark, no question, but he was just another Dark Lord, trying to rule the Wizard world in his image. The truly dangerous ones, the madmen that only waned to destroy and burn things, the ones that tried to delve into magics so disturbing that they often drove the practitioners mad, those people would no more serve Voldemort than Voldemort would serve Fudge. Not even Sirius could open those doors, get information from those people or even name most of them. Madame Morgana knew many of them, by name or reputation at least, but she would not betray her clients.

Enter "Rhian", a well trained witch who was less than concerned about what shade of magic you practised, as long as you paid your bills on time. He sighed and pushed that aside. Remus loved Maire and she was carrying his child. He would walk in to hell to keep her safe.

Three hours later Reginald examined his notes. "Maire and Remus have Knockturn Alley covered, we've got Diagon Alley covered and Sirius is talking to the old money families. Donnetta has Hogwarts under control and Andromeda Tonks and her husband are going to pass us information from their friends in the twilight zone."

Sirius looked up "The what?"

Reginald shrugged. "Don't ask me. It's a term that Ted Tonks uses for those wizards and witches that live on the border of the wizard world, half in our world and half in the Muggle world." Sirius shrugged and Reginald continued. "We seem to have everything covered except the Ministry and that's my responsibility. Lemos and I will be meeting tomorrow to discuss what kind of a group I want to build in the Ministry." He looked at his notes and looked up at the group. "Is there anything else?"

Maire nodded. "I want to know what is being done about the Delores Umbridge woman. She has endangered Harry Potter and that cannot be allowed."

Sirius looked up. "Don't worry about it," he said bluntly. "I have that matter well in hand."

Maire looked at him. "May I ask what you're going to do?"

Sirius looked at her and then at the others. "No. You'll figure it out when it happens, but if anyone asks you, you can say you didn't know anything about it. And people will be asking questions after it happens, trust me on that." Sirius looked at the group and his eyes were cold.

"Delores Umbridge will pay a Black family price for trying to hurt a member of my family."

_**OoOoOoO Harry and crew, Hogwarts Express, 21JUN91. OoOoOoO**_

Harry sighed as he sat back in the train compartment, already planning things to do over the summer. Neville and his parents were going to some event in Germany, so he'd be gone most of the summer, Hermione had already told him that she was planning on trying to get her parents to let her come spend a week or so with them after their holiday trip and Draco was going to spend a couple of weeks with Madame Morgana. Most of this summer would be just the four of them again, Blaise, Daphne, Draco and himself, running wild over the compound again.

Harry sat back and smiled. All of his friends were happy, he was happy and Voldemort was disembodied again. Last time, it had taken him nearly ten years to come back.

Harry would be happy if it took him another ten years to return. He was looking forward to a glorious summer.

_**OoOoOoO The Author, Here and Now. OoOoOoO**_

_Raise your hand, if you truly believe Harry's summer is going to be all Fun and Games._

_If you do, I've got some seashore property in Montana to sell you._

_Raven_


End file.
